Avalanche forecast

Bridgeport Avalanche Center

Bridgeport Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Wind from the Northwest will redistribute snow that fell earlier this week, watch for signs of blowing snow and wind slabs today.  Above-freezing temperatures will warm up the snow on solar aspects creating wet snow instabilities.  Adjust your plan as conditions change today and give yourself a wide terrain margin to work around these problems. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Winds will shift to a Northerly flow today with ample amounts of new snow available for transport from earlier this week. Watch for signs of blowing snow on ridges and in terrain where snow accumulates. Shooting cracks and collapsing sounds are some of the visual and audio clues of unstable snow. Earlier in the week in the BWRA above Koenig Lake, a rider triggered a large wind slab ona  Northeast aspect in above treeline terrain. Older wind slabs remain stubborn to trigger hower could break larger than expected. Wind from the NW will load SE slopes and older slabs linger on NE slopes encompassing most of the compass rose listed above. For more details about the human-triggered wind slab from 4/2, see our avalanche page for a full description.

    Unintentionally triggered avalanche on 4/2  by a rider on their machine. 1 person was caught and carried and escaped unharmed. 

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    Wet Loose snow activity will quiet down today with the cooling NW wind, however, the April sunshine remains strong, and solar activity can't be ruled out. Above-freezing temperatures and the strength of the mid-day sun will weaken the snow's ability to bond creating wet loose avalanche activity. Avoid this problem by changing aspects during the heat of the day, and monitoring the changing conditions to create a new plan. Roller balls are one of the signs that the snow is losing its strength, even a small slide in consequential terrain can be a big problem. 

    (4/3/2025) Photo: Julian Hanna

    Small amounts of snow began to shed on an Easterly aspect on 4/3 in the Horse Creek drainage. 

Avalanche Discussion

Springtime brings rapid change to the forecast region. This week we went from winter-like unconsolidated dry loose powder to hot pow and wet loose springtime snow. In the middle of all that was a lingering wind slab problem that took a rider and their machine by surprise with a fairly large wind slab avalanche that released above Koneig Lake.  More details are available on our avalanche page. With the sun high in the sky and temperatures above freezing, timing your ascent and descent is key to avoiding solar problems like wet loose and wet slab activity.  This weekend and into next week temperatures are forecasted to rise well above freezing. Rapid change in the spring brings uncertainty and lubricity to the snowpack. Water begins to percolate through the snowpack and travel along crust layers.  Cooler temperatures should keep that to a minimum today however consider viewing terrain with a bit of skepticism as we go through these temperature swings. Outside of the primary problems identified above I wanted to put out a general watch-out reminder of the occurrence of avalanche activity in the spring like Wet Slab and Glide Avalanche activity. These problems are harder to predict yet worth mentioning as possibilities that can occur in our mostly maritime snow. 

Regions covered