Avalanche Forecast

Fair

Wednesday: Mainly cloudy with periods of light snow – around 5 cm. The freezing level is at valley bottom. Winds are light to moderate from the W-NW. Thursday: A mix of sun and cloud. Temperatures should cool a few degrees to around -10 at treeline. Winds are light from the north. Friday: Mainly sunny. Treeline temperatures are around -12 during the day and -20 overnight.

No new slab avalanches were reported on Sunday. Neighboring regions reported a couple natural cornice failures but these did not trigger slabs on the slopes below. The likelihood of triggering avalanches is greatly reduced with cooler temperatures and increased cloud cover.

The recent dry, warm weather has generally consolidated the upper snowpack. As temperatures now begin to cool, stability in the upper snowpack should increase further. Keep in mind that 'Low Hazard' does not mean 'No Hazard' and that residual risk of avalanches still exists. Old, stubborn hard wind slabs may still exist in isolated areas. A basal facet/crust combo (weak sugary snow above and below a crust) near the ground is still a concern in some areas, and was the culprit with some of the very large recent avalanches. The depth of this layer makes triggering an avalanche on it unlikely (maybe a heavy load on a thin spot in steep terrain, rapid temperature change, or cornice fall), but the consequences would be large and very destructive.Large surface hoar is reported to have formed in sheltered areas at all elevations with the exception of open south-facing slopes where the sun has caused melting and formed a sun crust. This layer may be covered by a few centimetres of new snow and will likely be one to watch carefully in the coming weeks.