The kiss of the sun can spark avalanche activity. Plan your route to avoid exposure to steep, sun-baked slopes.
Confidence
Moderate - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain
Weather Forecast
A ridge brings mixed sun and cloud for the weekend. The freezing level is around 1700 m. A front is expected to pass through late on Sunday/ Monday morning, bringing light snow with the freezing level around 1400 m.
Avalanche Summary
Sporadic cornice falls have occurred over the last week, some triggering slabs on the slope below. Otherwise, no new avalanches have been reported.
Snowpack Summary
Large cornices overhang alpine slopes and threaten to trigger avalanches on slopes below. Recently formed wind slabs may be isolated to alpine wind-loaded terrain. In many places, the snow surface consists of a crust or moist snow and the snowpack is generally strong. Deeply buried weak layers near the ground are becoming hard to find, but may remain sensitive to triggering from thin snowpack areas or with large loads such as cornice fall.
Problems
Cornices
Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.