Confidence
Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain
Weather Forecast
Wednesday: Light precipitation. Freezing level around 2200 m, dropping to around 1700 m. Moderate southerly winds.Thursday: Light precipitation. Freezing level around 1200 m. Light southerly winds.Friday: Light precipitation, clearing by afternoon. Freezing level around 1200 m. Light variable winds.
Avalanche Summary
On Sunday, skiers triggered size 1-2 wind slabs on north-west and west aspects following overnight winds. Other recent observations include several loose-wet avalanches up to size 2 from steep solar aspects and wet slabs triggered by skiers below 1400 m. There has been some cornice fall and ice fall.
Snowpack Summary
A melt-freeze crust exists on solar aspects and at low elevations. In some areas, limited overnight cooling has kept surface snow from re-freezing, leaving it loose and cohesionless. Areas of wind slab formed with recent southerly or easterly winds. Dry settling or faceting snow can be found on high north aspects, now buried underneath these wind slabs. A predominately crusty weak interface from late March, now down 50-150cm, has become less likely to trigger, but remains a lingering concern.
Problems
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.
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.
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.