Avalanche Forecast

There have been no new avalanches reported in the last couple days.

A week ago (Sat Mar 23), three very large (size 3) persistent slab avalanches were reported, occurring on southerly alpine slopes and likely triggered by warming.

Dry snow still exists on north-facing slopes at upper elevations. A thin layer of surface hoar may be growing in sheltered terrain. In most areas, a thick widespread crust caps the snowpack. At lower elevations and on steep sunny slopes, the crust may soften with warming during the day or the snowpack may become isothermal.

Various weak layers, including crusts, facets, and/or surface hoar exist approximately 40 to 80 cm deep. An additional crust and facet layer may be found 100 to 150+ cm below the surface. Lingering concern remains for human-triggering on these persistent weak layers.

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries, trace accumulation. Northwest ridgetop wind, 20-40 km/h. Treeline temperature low -6 °C. Freezing level near valley bottom.

Sunday

Cloudy with sunny breaks. West-southwest ridgetop wind 40-60 km/h. Treeline temperature high -1 °C. Freezing level rising to 1100 m.

Monday

Flurries starting later in the day, 5-10 cm. Southwest ridgetop wind 30-50 km/h. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level rising above 1100 m.

Tuesday

Snow and wet flurries, 10-20 cm. Southwest ridgetop wind gusting to 60 km/h. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.
• As surface loses cohesion due to melting, loose wet avalanches become common in steeper terrain.
• When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.
• Avoid sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if snow is moist or wet