Avalanche Forecast

High - Confidence is due to a stable weather pattern with little change expected.

Scattered snow flurries with light to moderate southerly wind for the rest of the week.

TUESDAY NIGHT: Mainly cloudy with clear periods and isolated flurries, light and variable wind, treeline temperatures around -12 C.

WEDNESDAY: A mix of sun and clouds with scattered flurries starting mid-morning, 2 to 5 cm new snow, light to moderate southerly wind, treeline temperatures around -7 C.

THURSDAY: Mainly cloudy with scattered flurries, trace to 3 cm new snow, light southerly wind, treeline temperatures around -5 C.

FRIDAY: Mainly cloudy with scattered flurries, 2 to 5 cm new snow, light southwest wind, treeline temperatures around -5 C.

Loose dry avalanches (sluffs) in steep alpine and treeline features are gaining mass with incremental light snowfall amounts and near surface faceting and are sliding easily on surface hoar and old hard surfaces. Isolated wind slabs may start to develop as south/southeasterly wind increases on Wednesday afternoon.  

A few more cm off snow late in the day on Wednesday will add to the 5-15 cm recent low density snow that has buried surface hoar and other old surfaces. In the alpine, new snow sits on top of layers of hard wind slab, scoured regions, sastrugi and isolated pockets of soft snow. A hard crust is found below 1700 m. Cold temps continue to promote near-surface faceting that slowly softens hard surfaces, develop facets at the crust interface and weaken cornices.   

A solid mid-pack sits above a deeply buried crust and facet layers near the bottom of the snowpack (150-200 cm deep), which are currently unreactive. 

• Fresh wind slabs will likely form throughout the day, diligently watch for changing conditions.
• Be carefull with sluffing in steep terrain, especially above cliffs and terrain traps.
• Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.