Avalanche Forecast

Spring time is here in the Rockies.  The most important things to keep an eye on are freezing levels, temperatures and solar radiation.  We are expecting to see some mixed weather as we move into the weekend and a chance for some snow on Saturday at higher elevations.

Solar triggerred avalanches are becomming more the norm at this time of year.  Loose wet slides and potentially loose wet slabs are likely.  There may even be a combination of both of these with loose wet slides triggerring slabs on the underlying slopes.  These wet avalanches tend to be slow moving but very destructive reaching well down into normal runouts.  Keep an eye on the terrain you are on, and travelling under. 

Temperature, Aspect and time of day are all relevant at this time.  The quality of the freeze overngiht will play a large role in regards to stability.  When the snowpack is in its frozen state, the avalanche danger is relatively low-moderate.  As it begins to melt, it will become less stable and eventually, the danger may increase to high.  Solar aspects will see the biggest changes, especially in steeper, thin, rocky terrain.  Northern aspects still have dry powder snow and a generally winter snowpack.  Evaluate the terrain and overhead hazard as you travel.