It's spring, plan your outings to get the best quality snow possible. The alpine slopes will be very firm in the morning and the south-facing slopes will be the first to produce pleasant downhill conditions. The northern slopes will require more time to soften. If you are tackling challenging objectives, be sure to pack crampons and ice axes.
Summary
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanche has been observed or reported.
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Snowpack Summary
The cycle of overnight freezing and daytime thawing continues into Tuesday night and Wednesday, bringing the much-loved spring and "corn snow" conditions under the afternoon sun. At the base of the mountains, warmth and solar radiation will continue to rapidly transform the snow and continue the accelerated melting of the snowpack. More and more areas are now without snow cover, mainly at and below treeline, where conditions are quite minimal.Snowpack heights range from 0 cm (valley) to 92 cm (mid-mountain).
Weather Summary
Forecast for the Chic-Chocs ridges and summits.
Synopsis: A ridge of high pressure over the area will keep the weather mostly clear until Wednesday night. Tuesday evening and night: A few clouds, light winds from the southeast, minimum -3 C, freezing level at 400Â m.Wednesday: Alternating sun and clouds, light winds from the south, then from the northwest, maximum +7 C, freezing level at 1600Â m.Thursday: Cloudy, light rain, light northwest winds, gusts to 30 km/h, maximum +3 C, freezing level at 1600 m.Friday: Sunny, light northwest winds, maximum +5 C, freezing level at 1700 m. For more details, see the Chic-Chocs alpine forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Caution around slopes that are exposed to cornices overhead.
- As surface loses cohesion due to melting, loose wet avalanches become common in steeper terrain.
- The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
- Rocks will heat up with daytime warming and may become trigger points for loose wet avalanches
Problems
Cornices
The spring weather conditions, in particular in the absence of overnight refreezing, contribute to weakening the cornices. Even small, a cornice fall can be destructive with serious consequences. Since they are very unpredictable, it is best to stay away from them at all times.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Loose Wet
The heat and the intense solar radiation will promote the triggering of small loose wet snow avalanches, in particular on the steep slopes on solar aspects.
Aspects: East, South East, South, South West, West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Apr 26th, 2023 3:00PM
