Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Intensity of incoming weather is uncertain

A relatively cool day on Tuesday with 15 to 20cm of new snow possible. Winds are expected to be from the SW and increase through the day to 100km/h.

One natural avalanche was observed near midday today. It began as a loose snow avalanche which triggered a size 2.0 slide on the underlying slopes on an E aspect in the alpine. A few other recent slides (24 to 48 hours old) have occurred on steep N, NE and E aspects primarily in treeline and alpine features. These slides mostly ran full path, with some snapping off small trees.

An additional 2 to 3cm of new snow overnight at treeline. Storm snow totals are near 40cm at ridgetop. Soft slabs are present in alpine and treeline areas. A few recent avalanches up to size 2.5 are associated with the recent storm slabs. February surface hoar is down as much as 140cm and while more difficult to trigger, the consequences are large. The surface hoar is also susceptible to step down triggering. Cornices are quite large. The deep persistent weak layer of facets and depth hoar has been less active recently, but the possibility remains for a large destructive full depth avalanche if these layers are triggered.