Good spring skiing with fresh snow over a supportive base. Travel is fast and it is a good time for longer objectives. Start early when the hazard is Low and finish before the solar aspects get hot. Expect a winter like snowpack on high N aspects.
Summary
Weather Forecast
Generally clear skies Saturday night with a mix of sun and cloud on Sunday. Expect a good freeze Saturday night with freezing levels climbing to 2100m late Sunday afternoon. Monday and Tuesday will see temperatures begin to climb with potential for 3000m freezing levels by Tuesday afternoon.
Snowpack Summary
Supportive crust on solar aspects for most of the day with 5-10cm of new snow at higher elevations. Previous wind effect in alpine areas. Mid pack is well settled with no significant shears. Thin snowpack areas may have some weak basal facets but in general there are few concerns in the snowpack.
Avalanche Summary
Wet loose natural avalanches up to size 2 were seen Friday afternoon due to the warm temperatures with less activity on Saturday. Isolated whumpfing in the alpine was still noted on a steep solar aspect today in the Mt Hector area. Several recent cornice failures have triggered slabs on the basal facets in thin areas and cornices remain a concern.
Confidence
Problems
Loose Wet
Expect solar triggered avalanche activity on steep solar aspects Sunday afternoon. Start early and be off steep solar aspects by midday.
- Avoid sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if snow is moist or wet.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Cornices
Many large cornices have formed recently, and there have been numerous reports of cornice failures over the last week. In isolated events and thin snowpack areas, the cornice failures have been big enough to trigger the deep basal facets.
- Cornices become weak with daytime heating, so travel early on exposed slopes.
- Extra caution needed around cornices with current conditions.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Apr 19th, 2015 4:00PM