Avalanche Forecast

High

Several naturally, skier, or explosive-triggered storm and wind slab avalanches have been reported over the last couple of days. Avalanches occurred in treeline and alpine terrain on a variety of aspects up to size 2.

A couple of cornice failures have been reported during periods of strong sun.

Approximately 5 to 15 cm of recent snow has buried a variety of old surfaces. Including old wind-affected surfaces in exposed terrain, surface hoar or faceted snow in sheltered terrain, and sun crusts on south-facing slopes.

A widespread crust formed in early February is buried by roughly 20 to 50 cm of snow. This crust may be less prominent or not exist at high alpine elevations.

The mid and lower snowpack is largely faceted with depth hoar and a crust found at the bottom of the snowpack in many areas.

Friday Night

Mostly cloudy with 0 to 3 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Monday

Mix of sun and cloud with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C. Freezing level at valley bottoms.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
• Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
• In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.