Avalanche Forecast

Moderate -

The weather pattern begins to change Thursday with increased cloud cover and falling freezing levels overnight. FRIDAY: Cloudy. Freezing levels 1600 m with an alpine high of + 4 degrees. Ridgetop winds moderate from the South.SATURDAY: Cloudy with very light rain at lower elevations and light snow in the alpine. Freezing levels falling to 1400 m and alpine temperatures near -1. Ridgetop winds light to moderate from the southwest. SUNDAY: A mix of sun and cloud with freezing levels 1500 m and alpine temperatures near -1. Ridgetop winds light from the southwest.

On Thursday, several loose wet avalanches up to size 1 were reported from steep solar terrain at lower elevations. Explosive control produced a size 2.5 loose wet avalanche on a southwest aspect between 1750-2050 m. It ended up triggering three slabs that failed at the ground. On Wednesday, several natural loose wet avalanches up to size 2 released from sunny aspects. Skier controlled loose wet avalanches were also easily triggered up to size 2. Natural avalanche activity may start to slowly taper off with cooler temperatures this weekend.

Snow surfaces are highly variable. On higher North aspects (above 1700 m) you may find some dry, faceted snow. Some of this has been redistributed by southwesterly and northerly winds, potentially creating some unusual wind slabs. On solar aspects (East, South, West) the upper 10-30 cm is moist but re-freezes overnight into a solid crust. Most solar slopes at lower elevations are becoming isothermal. The snowpack has gone through a lot of change with the hot and sunny weather. With forecast freezing levels and air temperatures dropping, the mushy snowpack will start to solidify and lock-up allowing for hard conditions and less avalanche activity, especially on the solar slopes.