Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to how quickly the snowpack will recover and gain strength.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with isolated flurries and trace accumulations, moderate wind from the west, alpine temperatures drop to -5 C.

THURSDAY: Cloudy with scattered flurries and 5-10 cm of new snow, light wind from the west, freezing level drops to 600 m with alpine high temperatures around -2 C.

FRIDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, light wind, alpine high temperatures around -5 C.

SATURDAY: Sunny, light wind from the north, alpine high temperatures around -5 C.

Tuesday's storm resulted in several large (size 2) naturally triggered slab avalanches, primarily on north and east facing slopes that were wind loaded. Over the past week there have been a few isolated instances of very large (size 3-4) avalanches failing on deeper weak layers with crown fractures over one metre thick, but these layers are unreactive under the current conditions. Glide cracks have reportedly been opening and releasing large glide slab avalanches. Avoid slopes with glide cracks, as they are unpredictable.

30 cm of recent snow has rapidly settled due to mild temperatures. In open terrain this snow has been dramatically affected by strong wind from the southwest. A thin layer of facets that formed during the January cold snap is now 100-150 cm below the surface and an early season crust exists at the base of the snowpack. These layers produced a few large naturally triggered avalanches last week, but are most likely unreactive to human triggering under the current conditions.

• Stay off recently wind loaded slopes until they have had a chance to stabilize.
• The new snow may require another day to settle and stabilize.