The weather is shifting, but a complex snowpack remains hidden beneath the storm snow.
Verify conditions as you go and adjust terrain choices if you notice signs of instability.
Continuous storms in the past week have lots of fresh snow available for wind transport. Pay attention as you transition into wind-loaded terrain, where rider-triggered slabs are more suspectible.
Weak layers remain a concern in north-facing terrain where snowpack depth is variable. These layers are still adjusting to the recent snow load and may be reactive to human triggering.
Two large persistent slab avalanches (size 2 to 2.5) were observed on Duffey Lake Road, failing naturally on the early March weak layer, stepping down to the mid-February layer.
On Friday, numerous solar-induced avalanches occurred in Birkenhead, including a size 3.5 persistent slab that ran full path on a northeast alpine slope.
North-facing alpine and treeline terrain continue to see several natural and human-triggered avalanche activities since the past week.
The region received another 10 cm of new snow this weekend totaling 80 to 150 cm of storm snow in the past week. This sits on a weak layer formed in early March that consists of facets or surface hoar that overlie a crust on all aspects except high north-facing slopes. Two very large natural avalanches (up to size 3.5) were reported on this layer last Friday, one of them running to valley bottom.
Weak layers formed in mid-February and late-January are now buried 100 to 175 cm deep.
Sunday Night
Partly cloudy with up to 5 cm of new snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Freezing level at valley bottom.
Monday
Mix of sun and clouds with isolated flurries. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny. 15 to 25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.
Wednesday
A mix of sun and clouds. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
