Avalanche Forecast

Moderate

No new observed or reported.

Facets, depth hoar, crusts and surface hoar are the major players in our snowpack right now. A real who's who of bad grain types. Valley bottom is very thin for coverage, with all areas being weak facets. Treeline has more snow, but again coverage is variable. Winds have scoured ridges and open areas to ground, leaving gullies and depressions loaded with windslabs of various densities. And the alpine? It's mostly exposed rock, or growing patches of wind distributed snow that are beginning to connect terrain features.

We also need to discuss the surface hoar as its about to be buried, even if it is under only 2cm of snow. Right now we're assuming it is widespread up to the lower margin of the alpine. We're crossing our fingers that the winds have at least partially blown it away at alpine elevations, or the inversion prevented it from forming in the first place. 2 cm certainly won't cause an avalanche problem, but it will preserve this delicate layer, particularly in sheltered areas. The distribution of this layer will weigh heavily on our minds as the season goes on.

The overnight low will be -16, with a daytime high of -8. Flurries should continue for most of the day, with accumulations of a whopping 2.1cm. Winds will be a bit erratic tomorrow with ridgeline gusts into the moderate range. Expect some wind transport.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid terrain traps where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.
• Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.