Spring conditions today with good skiing on N aspects! Caution for loose wet slides on solar aspects and increased cornice failures with daytime warming! Hazard will increase with warming temperatures and decrease as things cool off.
Weather Forecast
A sunny day is forecast for Sunday with thin cloud later in the day, moderate W winds, mild temperatures and freezing levels up to 1800m. For Monday and Tuesday things are uncertain. If the system stays on track we may see up to 25mm of precipitation, but if it gets pushed S things will be cloudy, fairly dry, moderate W winds and mild temperatures
Snowpack Summary
Surface hoar forming overnight. Moist snow on all solar aspects with freezing levels up to 1900m. Light wind transport at ridge crests in the alpine. The recent storm snow appears to be bonding well to the March 3 rain crust and other surfaces. This March 3 crust is present up to 2000m and is buried 10 to 45cm depending on aspect and elevation.
Avalanche Summary
A size 3 natural cornice triggered avalanche occurred near Wall Lake in the last 24hrs out of steep rocky North facing terrain and stepped down to some deeper layers in the snowpack. Today numerous loose wet avalanches on steep solar aspects up to size 2 were observed at all elevations.
Confidence
Track of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Monday
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.
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.