Warm weather avalanche problems like cornices and loose wet slides will remain front and center until we get a real overnight refreeze. Early alpine starts are essential to beat the heat!
Weather Forecast
Today will be a mix of sun and cloud with potential for strong solar effect. Freezing levels rise to 1900m this afternoon with an alpine high of 2. Temperatures should briefly cool off tomorrow, as we receive more precip however they go back up to 3500m later in the week
Snowpack Summary
Warm temps and 3mm of rain at treeline have left the top meter of snow isothermal and moist. Surface crusts forming overnight are weak and break down quickly. Multiple crusts in the top meter of the snowpack provide sliding surfaces. Dry snow exists on steep N aspects in the high Alpine.
Avalanche Summary
Large loose wet avalanches continued to be observed, triggered by strong solar input during the heat of the day. Overnight a South facing avalanche path on Mt Cheops ran sz 3 to the end of runout. Artillery avalanche control produced large loose wet avalanches on solar aspects, running well into the run-out zones of their paths.
Confidence
Freezing levels are uncertain
Problems
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
Cornices
Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.