Avalanche Forecast

High - The weather pattern is stable

FRIDAY - Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries / Light east wind / alpine temperature -18SATURDAY - Mainly sunny / light to moderate east wind / alpine high temperature near -19SUNDAY - Mix of sun and cloud / light northeast wind / alpine temperature -15

A persistent weak layer that was buried in mid January continues to be reactive to human triggers. This layer is sensitive enough for avalanches to trigger remotely (from a distance). Human triggered avalanches up to size 2.5 were reported on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on a variety of aspects treeline and below. There have also been a few reports of natural and skier triggered windslab avalanches in the alpine size 1-2 in the past 3 days.

20-70 cm of recent new snow sits on wind slab, surface hoar (feathery crystals), facets (sugary snow) and a crust on sun-exposed slopes. In many areas, recent winds have formed wind slabs on all aspects due to shifting wind directions. The most notable feature in the snowpack at this time is a persistent weak layer that was buried in mid January, which is now buried 40-90cm. This layer consists primarily of surface hoar, however there is also a crust associated with it on sun-exposed slopes. This layer is the most prominent at treeline and below, and continues to produce avalanches.