Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Due to limited field observations

Saturday: Expect high cloud to develop with a chance of flurries late in the day. Winds will remain southwesterly from 50-70 km/h. Freezing levels should remain on the surface. Sunday & Monday: The ridge should re-build giving dry conditions. Winds turn westerly with freezing levels peaking at 1500m on Monday.

There are no new avalanche observations.

Some areas have seen a trace of new snow (less than 5cm), but beyond this the region has seen little change. Surface hoar continues to grow in sheltered locations and the cold temperatures are penetrating the upper snowpack to promote near surface facetting. There is some sun crust formation on steep south through west aspects. Hard windslabs linger in the alpine and open treeline locations but are softening due to the facetting phenomena. Some areas have a rain-crust below treeline from the 28th of November that has been buried by about 20 cms of snow. This rain-crust may be developing facets, and could become a layer of interest after it is buried by more of a load. The early November surface hoar remains a layer of concern. It is buried 100-150 cms and stability tests show that this layer is getting harder to trigger. However, if an avalanche does release on this layer, it is likely to be very large and destructive.