The best and safest riding will be high north-facing terrain that is free from cornices overhead. Expect avalanche activity on sun-exposed slopes.
Summary
Confidence
Weather Forecast
A high pressure system brings clear skies and a diurnal melt-freeze cycle.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Clearing skies, 30-40 km/h northeast wind, freezing level drops to valley bottom with treeline temperatures dropping to -6 C.
MONDAY: Mostly sunny, light northeast wind, freezing level climbs to 1800 m with treeline temperatures reaching -1 C.
TUESDAY: Sunny, light wind, freezing level climbs to 2100 m with treeline temperatures reaching +1 C.
WEDNESDAY: Sunny, light west wind, freezing level climbs to 2400 m with treeline temperatures around +4 C.
Avalanche Summary
Multiple days of above freezing temperatures have resulted in widespread size 1-2 wet loose avalanches on sun-exposed slopes since last Thursday. There were also natural cornice failures over this period, some as big as size 3. There were no reports of slab avalanches triggered by warming. A skier triggered wind slab of size 2 was reported on a north-facing slope in the south of the region on Friday. The last report of a persistent slab avalanche was from March 8 in the Golden area where a cornice fall triggered a size 3 avalanche on an steep east-facing slope in the alpine.
With relatively cooler temperatures on Monday you can still expect wet loose avalanches and cornice falls, but they will be less widespread than they were over the weekend.
Snowpack Summary
A dusting of fresh snow can be expected above 1500 m, but surfaces will quickly transition to moist/wet snow during the heat of the day. Warm weather over the past week has melted surfaces everywhere except high north-facing terrain (above roughly 2300 m). While there have been no recent avalanches on buried weak layers, there are a few layers that could potentially be triggered with intense warming or a heavy cornice fall. This includes a 30-60 cm deep crust layer from mid-March and the early November crust near the bottom of the snowpack.
Terrain and Travel
- Avoid slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if they have large cornices overhead.
- Use extra caution around cornices: they are large, fragile, and can trigger slabs on slopes below.
- Avoid lingering or regrouping in runout zones.
Problems
Loose Wet
Expect wet loose avalanches to run naturally when steep slopes are exposed to the sun. Activity will start on east-facing slopes in the morning, south-facing slopes throughout the day, and continue on west-facing slopes into the evening.
Aspects: East, South East, South, South West, West.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Cornices
Cornices are large and fragile when exposed to the sun. Cornice falls are dangerous on their own and can possibly trigger avalanches on slopes below.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Apr 19th, 2021 4:00PM
