Avalanche Forecast

High -

SATURDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, with a few flurries possible. Freezing level at valley floor. Light to moderate westerly winds.SUNDAY: 5-10 cm snow. Freezing level near 500 m. Light to moderate south-westerly winds.MONDAY: Mainly sunny. Freezing level near 700 m. Light to moderate south-westerly winds. More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Few avalanches have been observed recently. A few size 1.5 wind slabs were observed on south to east aspects on Thursday. They are expected to have failed naturally earlier this week. If the sun is shining, avoid exposure to steep solar aspects where loose wet avalanche activity is possible.

You are likely to find variable surfaces in open terrain after recent strong winds took out their fury on the upper snowpack. Fragile cornices and hard and soft wind slabs can be found on many alpine and treeline slopes. Ongoing cold temperatures are helping to break down and soften these.A crust/surface hoar interface is about 40-60 cm down, but is spotty in distribution. In sheltered areas where the surface hoar exists, it is reactive in snowpack tests. Deeper in the snowpack, the widespread mid-December weak layer sits about 160-200 cm deep. This consists of a crust, facets or surface hoar. Near the base of the snowpack, a crust/facet layer could be awoken from a thin-spot trigger point, or with a very large load.