Avalanche Forecast

Moderate

No recent avalanche activity has been reported since last Saturday.

However, last week a flurry of very large, scary persistent slab avalanche activity was reported at alpine and treeline elevations. These avalanches are becoming less likely, but the consequences of triggering one remain high.

As much as 20 cm of new snow now sits atop a widespread surface crust.

Beneath, 60 to 80 cm of well-settled snow sits over a weak layer of facets and surface hoar buried in mid-February. Recent snowpack tests indicate this layer may be starting to gain strength.

Another weak layer, from late January, is buried 80 to 120 cm deep. This may present as a crust on sunny slopes, sugary facets in most places, and surface hoar in sheltered spots. Large natural, remote, and human-triggered avalanches were reported on this layer last week.

Tuesday Night

Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 10 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 0 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Thursday

Sunny. 20 to 30 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

Friday

Mostly sunny. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

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.
• Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present and have produced recent large avalanches.
• A hard crust on the snow surface will help strengthen the snowpack, but may cause tough travel conditions.