Stick to higher shady slopes for the best snow, but keep the persistent slab problem in mind when choosing your line.
Summary
Confidence
Good
Weather Forecast
Thursday: Mainly sunny. The freezing level climbs to around 2000-2200 m during the day and drops below 1500 m overnight. Winds are light and variable. Friday: Increasing cloud with snow possible late. The freezing level lowers to 1800 m and winds increase to moderate or strong from the S-SW. Saturday: Cloudy with periods of snow. The freezing level continues downward to around 1200-1400 m and winds are moderate from the SW.
Avalanche Summary
Moist loose avalanches have been reported on steep sun-exposed slopes, and one natural cornice fall (size 2) was reported on Monday. This cornice did not trigger a slab on the slope below.
Snowpack Summary
On shady slopes, 15-25 cm of cold low-density snow sits on a strong and supportive rain crust that was buried last Saturday and extends as high as 2100m. Expect an ongoing melt-freeze cycle on sun-exposed slopes. A facet/crust layer that was buried in mid-March is now approximately 50-100 cm down. Recently it was found down 55 cm near the Duffey Lake Road, and produced moderate sudden results. This remains a concern in the region because of it's potential for very large avalanches. Cornices are now large and mature and may collapse with daytime warming and intense sunshine.