Avalanche Forecast

A cool and unstable weather pattern will exist through the weekend bringing a mixed bag of conditions. Some areas will see higher snowfall amounts than others.

Friday Night: New snow 5 cm. Moderate to strong West winds at ridgetop and freezing levels near 800 m. 

Saturday/ Sunday: Cloudy possible sunny periods with new snow 5-15 cm. Moderate ridgetop wind from the northwest. Freezing levels 1200 m and dropping to valley bottom overnight. Alpine temperatures near -10 C.

Monday: Mix of sun and cloud. Freezing level near 700 m and alpine temperatures -15 C. Ridgetop winds light from the West.

On Thursday, a natural size 2 wind slab was reported from a steep northwest slope at 2300 m and two size 2 slab avalanches were reported at treeline on easterly aspects. The warming produced lots of pinwheeling within the surface snow and wet loose avalanche activity up to size 2.5. 

On Wednesday, solar-induced natural wet loose avalanches were reported up to size 2, and a cornice fall triggered a size 2 wind slab on the slope below. 

A surface crust may exist on all aspects up to 1900 m and southerly aspects up to 2200 m. 10-20 cm of new snow may be found in the alpine. Fresh wind slabs have formed in exposed high elevation terrain forming wind slabs and large cornices. 

The upper metre of the snowpack consists of multiple buried crusts and the top 70 cm of consolidated snow sits above the late March melt-freeze crust. There have been no recent avalanches on this interface. 

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• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
• Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of buried weak layers.
• Use extra caution around cornices: they are large, fragile, and can trigger slabs on slopes below.
• When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.