Avalanche Forecast
Look for signs of instability and assess the bond between new snow and the old surface as you move through terrain.
Be ready to back off if there's a weak bond between new snow and the old surface.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
There have been several reports of windslab, and persistent slab avalanches up to size 2 releasing at treeline and alpine elevations on Saturday.
Persistent slab avalanches on the February weak layer have tapered off since earlier this week.
Snowpack Summary
20 cm of new snow is being redistributed by southerly winds. This new snow fell on a widespread layer of large surface hoar crystals, which sits on a crust on solar aspects and at low elevations. This should produce reactive or even touchy surface instabilities.
A layer of facets, surface hoar and/or a crust from mid-February are buried 50 to 100 cm deep. This layer produced large natural and human-triggered avalanches earlier this week.
The remainder of the snowpack is well consolidated with no concerns at this time.
Weather Summary
Sunday Night
Cloudy with 1 to 3 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 900 m.
Monday
Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 900 m.
Tuesday
Partly Cloudy. 10 to 15 km south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 800 m.
Wednesday
A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. 1 to 3 cm of snow 10 to 15 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures -2 °C. Freezing level 900 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- 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 buried surface hoar.
Avalanche Problems
Persistent Slabs
Buried persistent weak layers have produced large natural and human triggered avalanches recently. Additional snow load may increase sensitivity to triggering.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 3
Wind Slabs
Aspects: North, North East, East, West, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2