Low danger does not mean no danger. Stubborn old wind slabs, large cornices and the daily cycle of loose wet avalanches demand our respect.
Weather Forecast
Sunday looks a bit unsettled with isolated alpine rain showers/flurries. The weather pattern is pretty benign as we enter the work week with scattered cloud cover, seasonal freezing levels and no precipitation expected until possibly Wednesday. SUNDAY: Broken cloud cover, freezing level holding around 1100 m, very light variable wind, 1 mm of precipitation possible. MONDAY: Broken cloud cover, freezing level beginning at 1000 m, rising to 1200 m throughout the day, light west wind, no significant precipitation expected. TUESDAY: Broken cloud cover, freezing level beginning at 1000 m, rising to 1200 m throughout the day, light west wind, no significant precipitation expected.
Avalanche Summary
No recent notable avalanches have been reported.
Snowpack Summary
A mid-week storm brought up to 15 cm of new snow to the alpine while rain saturated the upper snowpack at treeline and below. Surface conditions on solar aspects and below about 1500 m have been affected by daily melt-freeze cycles. In the limited alpine terrain where the recent precipitation fell as snow, lingering wind slabs may remain reactive to human triggering.Below any recent snow accumulations, the overall snowpack is well settled and strong. Cornices loom over many ridge lines. Cornices become more unstable during the day as the temperature rises, especially when they are receiving direct sun.
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.