Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain

FRIDAY NIGHT: 5-15 cm of snow, strong southwest wind, alpine temperatures drop to -8 C.SATURDAY: Flurries easing throughout the day with another 5 cm of snow, strong southwest wind, freezing level climbing to 1300 m, alpine high temperatures around -3 C.SUNDAY: Light flurries in the morning then clearing in the afternoon, moderate north wind, freezing level climbing to 1000 m, alpine high temperatures around -5 C.MONDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, light northwest wind, alpine high temperatures around -8 C.

Slab avalanches will become more likely as snow accumulates above the freshly buried weak layer. The key is watching for signs of this new slab becoming reactive, such as cracking, whumpfing, or stiffer deeper pockets of snow.On Thursday, when there was only about 10 cm of new snow, skiers triggered fast moving sluffs (loose dry avalanches) and small wind slab avalanches on north and east facing slopes. A skier also remotely triggered a size 2 wind slab (60 cm deep) on a southwest alpine slope.

By Saturday, 15-30 cm of snow will have buried a layer of large surface hoar crystals and sun crusts. This will create the potential for fast moving sluffs and thin slab avalanches with wide propagations. The most suspect terrain features are steep slopes and rolls below 2000 m (where the largest surface hoar exists) and steep south-facing slopes in the alpine (where sun crusts exist).The middle and lower portions of the snowpack are generally well-settled and strong. Professionals are tracking a layer around 130 to 180 cm deep, composed of weak faceted grains, surface hoar, and a sun crust. The chance of triggering this layer is low. In shallow snowpack areas, the base of the snowpack may also still be composed of weak faceted grains.