Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Sea To Sky.
A clearing and cooling trend is in the forecast. If you are venturing out, wind slabs in alpine terrain are the main concern.
Confidence
Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.
Weather Forecast
Monday Night: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries, light northeast wind, alpine temperature -9 C, freezing level valley bottom.
TUESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, moderate northeast wind, alpine temperature -10 C, freezing level valley bottom.
WEDNESDAY: Mainly sunny, moderate to strong northeast wind, alpine temperature -13 C.
THURSDAY: Mainly sunny, moderate northeast wind, alpine temperature -14 C.
Avalanche Summary
Observations are very limited right now, with recreationists just starting to get into the mountains and operations starting up. We haven't received any reports of recent avalanche activity. The most likely place to trigger an avalanche would be where the ground is smooth, such as on glaciers, rock slabs, scree slopes, or grassy slopes.
If you see anything while out in the field, please consider sharing that information with us and fellow recreationists via the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
Snowpack Summary
New snow that fell over the weekend in the alpine has been redistributed by southwest switching to northeast winds. This snow covers a variety of surfaces, from bare ground below treeline, around 50 cm of snow intermixed with trees and rocks at treeline and lower alpine elevations, and upwards of 100 cm of snow above 2000 m.
The new snow may not bond well to an underlying hard melt-freeze crust. Use particular caution where the snow surface appears smooth, as this may mean an avalanche could propagate over a wider area.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
The most likely place to trigger an avalanche is at alpine elevations where the ground roughness is smooth, for example on glacial ice, scree slopes, grassy slopes, or rock slabs. With the lack of information available, it is best to recreate conservatively, be on high alert, and conduct your own assessments throughout the day.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South, South West.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 1.5