Avalanche Forecast

Moderate -

Friday night: 5cm of new snow expected with strong southwest ridgetop winds and a low of -3 at 1600m.

Saturday: stormy with up to 10cm of snow expected and moderate southwest winds. Freezing levels rising to 1800m.

Sunday: cloudy with flurries bringing up to 5cm of snow and light to moderate southwest winds. High of -2 at 1600m.

Monday: stormy with up to 10cm of new snow expected with moderate to strong southwest ridgetop winds. High of -1 at 1600m.

On Friday one sled triggered size two slab avalanche was reported. This avalanche was triggered in an open treeline feature on a west aspect.

On Tuesday a group of skiers remotely triggered a slab avalanche on an east aspect near ridgetop. We suspect it failed on the facets above the late February layer. Wind loading above this layer was a factor.

On Monday, ski cuts produced size 1 wind slab and loose dry avalanches. Explosive control work on steep shady treeline features produced no results.

New snow accompanied by strong southwest winds will likely form new wind slabs in exposed terrain at treeline and above. Moist snow will likely be observed below treeline.

A crust from earlier this month can be found down 10 to 20cm on south aspects and below 1800m.

Although we haven't seen recent activity on a couple of weak layers buried in January, they still appear in snowpack models and local operators continue to track them. These consist of a layer of surface hoar and a crust buried more than 1m deep in most places.

• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
• Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind loaded snow.