Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain on Sunday

Sunday will be a mix of sun and cloud with a chance of some convective flurries throughout the day.  Alpine temperatures will be around -9C and winds will be moderate out of the west. Freezing levels should be around 1900m.  When the sun does come out, stability will decrease quickly so pay close attention the the aspect you are travelling on or underneath on your way home. 

A few loose dry avalanches were observed from steeper terrain on Saturday.  Also there was a report of a sz 2.5 on a N aspect near the "Sharks tooth" peak in the commonwealth area.  This avalanche was likely triggered by a cornice collapse.

Over the past 24hrs up to 15cm of new snow has fallen with moderate NW winds.  This new snow will form thin new storm slabs and bury the previous windslabs that we were talking about.  Cornices are also large and there have been reported failures of late with the large loads triggering slabs on the underlying slopes.  The basal facets have not been active in some time but as temperatures warm up, we may start to see them become more active. Temperature, Aspect and time of day are all relevant at this time. The quality of the freeze overngiht will play a large role in regards to stability. When the snowpack is in its frozen state, the avalanche danger is relatively low-moderate. As it begins to melt, it will become less stable and eventually, the danger may increase to high. Solar aspects will see the biggest changes, especially in steeper, thin, rocky terrain. Northern aspects still have dry powder snow and a generally winter snowpack. Evaluate the terrain and overhead hazard as you travel. To review common spring avalanche problems go here