Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to field data and reports showing a wide variation in conditions throughout the region.

Sunday night: Partly cloudy with isolated flurries. Light northwest wind. Alpine temperatures around -7. Freezing level 800 m.

Monday: Sunny. Light to moderate northwest wind. Alpine high temperatures around -1. Freezing level 2100 m.

Tuesday: Sunny with increasing cloud in the late afternoon. Light to moderate southwest wind. Alpine high temperatures around -1. Freezing level 2200 m.

Wednesday: 5-10 cm new snow. Strong southwest wind easing to light. Alpine temperature around -5. Freezing level 1800 m.

Cornices have been reactive in the last few days both to explosives and naturally, occasionally triggering wind slabs on slopes below. 

A natural size 3 was reported on Thursday in the Dogtooth range. It was on a southeast aspect in the alpine and is suspected to have solar-triggered and run on the crust buried in mid-March.

Reports from Wednesday included small (size 1) wet loose point releases from steep solar aspects and explosive triggered wind slabs on north to east facing ridgetops.

The convective nature of Sunday's storm resulted in greatly variable snowfall amounts through the region, as much as 50 cm around Golden and 5-20 cm elsewhere. The recent snow may have seen some wind effect in immediate less of exposed alpine features. Reports indicate it is bonding well to underlying surfaces which include wind affected snow in the alpine or crust on solar aspects and below 1900 m. Below this elevation and on solar aspects the new snow dusts crusty surfaces down to 1500 m. Below 1500 m, the moist snowpack is quickly diminishing.

A widespread crust layer from the mid-March warm spell can be found 30-60 cm deep, and small surface hoar has been observed at this depth on some isolated north-facing slopes. Reports suggest the snow is generally well bonded to these layers but isolated instances of large solar-triggered slab avalanches running on the crust have been observed. Deeper layers are strong and have been unreactive over the past few weeks.

• Avoid slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if they have large cornices overhead.
• Rocks will heat up with daytime warming and may become trigger points for loose wet avalanches
• Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.