Avalanche Forecast

High

On Monday there were several small wet loose avalanches reported on sunny slopes. As well as some large cornices failing on northern aspects.

The strong south-to-west alpine wind is expected to have scoured any soft snow and either carried it away or dropped it far downslope.

The upper snowpack consists of:

• A crust that likely formed on the surface at treeline and below, and on steep slopes in the alpine that saw the sun.

• Surface hoar growing in terrain sheltered from the wind.

• Sheltered snow which has likely been faceting and softening.

An otherwise right-side-up snowpack appears to be bonding well to a crust buried 70 to 100 cm deep. The mid and lower snowpack is generally well-settled and bonded with no layers of concern.

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy. 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Thursday

Mostly sunny. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +1 °C. Freezing level 2700 m.

Friday

Cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Saturday

Mostly sunny. 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
• Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.
• The snowpack is generally stable; it may be appropriate to step out into more complex terrain.