Avalanche Forecast

Good

Friday: Mostly dry with some partial clearing. Freezing level around 700 m. Ridgetop winds light southerly. Saturday: Flurries. Freezing level around 600 m. Ridgetop winds gusting to 40 km/h from the south. Sunday: 5-10 cm new snow. Freezing level around 500 m. Ridgetop winds gusting to 50 km/h from the southwest.

No new avalanches observed. Avalanche control produced a cornice collapse, which did not release a slab on the slope below.

Recent mild temperatures have consolidated previous wind slabs in most areas, although it may still be possible to find relatively thin windslabs on the lee side of ridge top and on cross loaded features in exposed areas. The warm temperatures have created a moist snow surface, especially on south facing slopes, which will freeze into a crust as temperatures cool. Surface hoar crystals growing up to 20mm have been observed on the snow surface. No significant shears have been observed recently in the top or mid snowpack layers. Near the base of the snowpack, a crust/facet layer exists, but is now unlikely to be triggered. However, professionals are still mindful of thin snowpack trigger areas or large loads (like a large cornice) which could wake it up again, leading to a very large avalanche.