Start and finish early. Solar radiation will increase the likelihood of all of the described avalanche problems as the day progresses Monday.
Strong SW-NW winds Thursday, Friday and moderate winds Saturday combined with recent snow built slabs in lee features and contributed to fresh cornice development. Last night's 10-15 cm of snow will now bury these. On solar slopes thinner slabs may be touchy as they overlie more recent sun crusts.
Below the recent snow, a 90-150 cm slab sits on the Jan 30 facet layer. On all but high north aspects, recent sun crusts and the March 27 rain crust cap this slab, providing some security. Continue to use caution in thinner, high areas or when these crusts are weak or breaking down with daytime heat.
With more sun expected Monday and freezing levels expected to rise, expect recent snow to slide over buried crusts on steep solar slopes. At lower elevations, surface crusts may start to break down leading to difficult travel and increasing hazard.
No new avalanches were observed at the time of writing Sunday.
On Saturday, skiers in the Ferris Glacier area remote-triggered a wind slab 60 cm deep on NE alpine terrain.
On Friday, skiers remote triggered a wind slab possibly on a thin sun crust, on St. Nicholas size 2.5 that stepped down to deeper layers and occurred on steep, unsupported terrain.
10-20 cm of dry snow overlays crusts found in most locations, with up to 60 cm on north-facing alpine zones. Windslabs can be found on lee aspects in the alpine.
A weak layer of facets that lies below a generally stiff midpack is much less of a concern in this deeper snowpack region. On all but high north aspects, crusts in the upper snowpack overlay this midpack slab. If these crusts are thick, and remain frozen, they provide some strength over the weakness.
Clearing overnight Sunday with treeline temperatures dropping to -10°C while W/NW winds diminish to light.
Monday, a mix of sun and cloud as the freezing levels rise to 2400 m. Significant solar effects are likely. West to southwest winds increase to moderate. Overnight temperatures at treeline will drop to -7°C.
