The main concern right now is daytime heating. Start and finish early to take advantage of the colder temps and reduced avalanche hazard in the mornings. Some lingering concerns for deeper weak layers also exist as we transition to spring conditions.
Summary
Weather Forecast
A mix of sun and cloud for Friday and Saturday will bring slightly warmer temperatures and increased solar inputs. Day time highs for Friday will reach +7'C at valley bottoms but stay below freezing in the alpine. Forecasted winds are generally light. We currently expect a cooler cloudy day on Sunday.
Snowpack Summary
10-20 cm of recent snow overlies a variety of surfaces depending on aspect and elevation. A supportive melt freeze crust is present below the new snow in most areas excluding high north aspects. Many areas have a cohesive mid-pack over the basal facets, while thin areas often have weak facets to ground. Lower elevations are becoming isothermal.
Avalanche Summary
Loose dry avalanches up to size 1.5 were observed above treeline on Wed/Thurs following the arrival of the new snow on Wednesday. There have been a couple isolated size 1.5 to 2 slab avalanches in the last several days running on buried facets in thin snow pack areas. This activity has slowed down with cooling but the weakness persists.
Confidence
Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain on Friday