Avalanche Forecast

High

Looking ahead, we expect a large natural avalanche cycle to occur with snowfall and extreme winds, followed by warming.

On Thursday, skier traffic triggered several size 1 dry loose and storm slab avalanches. Reports also noted signs of instability like shooting cracks from skier traffic.

Thanks for sharing your observations to the MIN.

Up to 20 cm of snow overnight and then another 20 to 30 cm accompanied by strong to extreme southwest winds will form touchy storm slabs, and deeper deposits on north- and east-facing slopes. This sits over 60 to 100 cm of previous storm snow.

A supportive crust is found 80 to 150 cm deep and the recent settling snow is bonding well to it. Below this, the snowpack is well-settled and strong.

See this North Shore SAR report for additional information.

Saturday Night

Cloudy with up to 20 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h south ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Sunday

Cloudy with 20 to 30 cm of snow. 50 to 90 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -2 rising to 2 °C. Freezing levels rise to 2000 m by 4 pm.

Monday

In the overnight period, 30 to 60 mm is expected, falling as snow above 1500 m.

Then, cloudy with another 40 to 60 mm, falling as snow above 1500 m. 60 to 90 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 4 °C.

Tuesday

Cloudy with up to 20 mm, falling as snow above 2000 m. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
• Only the most simple non-avalanche terrain with no overhead hazard is appropriate at this time.
• Use extra caution for areas that are experiencing rapidly warming temperatures for the first time.