Watch for strong sunshine, even brief periods can rapidly increase avalanche danger and produce natural avalanches.
Expect changing conditions as you shift aspect and elevation.
Facets above a crust persists in the snowpack most prevalent at treeline elevations. Storm slabs may step down to this layer resulting in very large, destructive avalanches.
Deeper and more sensitive slabs exist on north and east facing slopes near ridges. Danger may rise quickly if the sun appears.
Good travel habits are key, minimize your exposure to avalanche terrain and evaluate safe spots with caution.
Observations are currently limited, however we expect rider triggering is still possible.
Avalanche activity was observed Thursday to size 2.5, with the largest slabs reported from wind loaded features.
Up to 90 cm of recent snow has been wind affected in exposed terrain. This sits over wind-affected surfaces and 30 to 60 cm of settling snow in sheltered areas. In some areas sunshine hascreated heavy snow or a surface crust.
Multiple weak layers exist in the mid snowpack. The first, a layer of a crust, facets and/or surface hoar is buried around 100 cm deep. The second, a widespread crust with facets above is buried around 130 cm deep. These layers will need time to adjust to the new snow load.
The storm snow and buried weak layers have produced recent large avalanche activity. Although natural avalanche activity may taper off, it will remain possible to human-trigger it for some time afterward.
Saturday Night
Cloudy with possible flurries. 30-40 km/h southwest winds. Freezing level drops to valley bottom.
Sunday
A mix of sun and cloud. 10-20 km/h southwest winds. Treeline temperature -6 °C. The freezing level hovers around 900 m.
Monday
A mix of sun and cloud, with up to 5 cm of snow possible. 20-30 km/h southwest winds. Treeline temperature -7 °C. Freezing level around 700 m.
Tuesday
A mix of sun and cloud. 30-50 km/h northwest winds. Treeline temperature -9 °C. Freezing levels around 500 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
