Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Intensity of incoming weather is uncertain on Friday

Thursday: Light snowfall / Light northwest winds / Freezing level at 1100mFriday: Light snowfall becoming moderate in the afternoon / Strong southwest winds / Freezing level at 1100mSaturday: Light to moderate snowfall / Light southwest winds / Freezing level at 1100m

On Monday a couple of slab avalanche to size 2.5 were remotely triggered by a skier from 300m away. The avalanches occurred on a northwest aspect in the high alpine. The early April surface hoar/ facet interface is though to be the culprit. No new avalanches were observed on Tuesday; however, observations were very limited. I would expect a new round of wind/storm slab activity in the wake of new snow and wind on Wednesday.

At upper elevations moderate to locally heavy amounts of new snow have been shifted into deeper windslabs by steady southwest winds. About 40-75cm below the surface you are likely to find a temperature/sun crust from last week's clear weather. At the same interface you may find a touchy layer of facets or surface hoar on shaded alpine slopes above ~2400m. Where they exist these weak crystals have been responsible for large remote triggers. The variable and reactive nature of this layer suggests that it may continue to catch people by surprise. At lower elevations (below 1600m) rain has continued to saturate the snowpack. Recent snowfall and wind have made large cornices bigger and more likely to fail.