Avalanche Forecast

Sunday will be a mix of sun and cloud with moderate to strong SW winds. Overnight temperatures near -9 will climb quickly to around +3 at treeline by late morning. Freezing levels could reach as high as 2700 to 3000m.

Several loose wet up to size 1.5 were observed, mainly on steeper solar aspects.

One large naturally triggered size 3 slab avalanche was observed on a SE aspect in the Alpine. This slab exhibited wide propagation, was approximately 60cm deep and occurred after only a couple of hours of sun shining directly on it.

The snowpack continues its transition to Spring. Moist snow on Saturday up to at least 2600m on solar aspects, and likely higher. This will turn into a crust by morning, but will quickly melt again by late morning on Sunday. Expect loose wet avalanches on solar aspects and sensitive cornices when they exposed to sun/heat. On non-solar aspects there are still some buried wind slabs in the upper 60 to 80cm of the snowpack that are worth investigating before committing to bigger terrain.

• Avoid sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if snow is moist or wet
• Cornices become weak with daytime heating.
• Avoid rock outcroppings, convexities, and anywhere the snowpack is thin and/or variable.
• Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.