Avalanche Forecast

Sunday should bring mainly cloudy skies with temperatures climbing to around -6 in the Alpine by early afternoon. Very light occasional flurries are possible, but accumulations will be negligible. Winds will be light from the northerly quadrant. Much the same for Monday, with light flurries expected to move in by Tuesday.

Nothing new observed today.

Cold temperatures are promoting surface faceting and isolated surface hoar growth. In the Alpine wind slabs are found in most areas, including some reverse wind loading today with the northerly winds. These slabs vary considerably in their depth and density and therefore it is worth digging down frequently to evaluate local conditions. The most notable characteristic of the snowpack is the 60 to 100cm of settled snow from the previous storm the sits over a weak base of facets. This condition is found on all aspects at all elevations. Snowpack stability tests today indicate that the interface between the recent storm snow and the weak basal layers is the primary failure plane of concern. If this layer is initiated, large avalanches are probable.

• Conservative terrain selection is critical, choose only well supported, low consequence lines.
• Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of a deep persistent slab.
• Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.