Spring conditions are present in the park. Keep your heads up to hazards like cornices, glide cracks, open creeks and loose wet avalanches.
Weather Forecast
Temperatures will cool down today with light, possibly moderate precipitation in the forecast. Freezing levels will remain around 1800 m. Winds will be moderate from the west/southwest. Conditions dry out on Sunday and temperatures are forecast to remain near seasonal. Light convective precipitation will arrive on Monday.
Snowpack Summary
Warm temperatures and moist snow/rain overnight did not allow for a good freeze. An isothermal snowpack has been reported in some locations at treeline. These conditions result in a loose, unconsolidated snowpack. Precipitation that did fall as snow over the last few days will be heavy and wet.
Avalanche Summary
Artillery avalanche control along the highway corridor yesterday produced numerous size 2-2.5 loose, moist avalanches. Most of these avalanches stopped mid-path.With poor visibility being a factor, we observed a few natural avalanches yesterday, from size 2-3. In the past week many recent glide crack avalanches have released.
Confidence
Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain
Problems
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.
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.