Avalanche Forecast

Good - -1

Mostly clear and dry for the forecast period with light northerly winds. The temperature inversion is expected to redevelop with above freezing treeline and alpine temperatures, as well as valley cloud, by Friday.

Avalanche activity has tapered off throughout the week. Although the likelihood of triggering deep persistent slab avalanches is low, the potential consequences are still very high.

Surface hoar is growing, surface snow is faceting, and pockets of weak wind slab may still be lingering on various aspects at and above treeline.Warm temperatures and sun-exposure likely resulted in a surface crust on steep south aspects. Last weekends rain crust is down 20-40cm and extends up to treeline elevations. Basal depth hoar with an associated crust is prevalent in thin snowpack areas, and especially problematic where it is overlying summer firn. Above that, and down 1-2m, are two more crusts mixed with facets, depth hoar, and surface hoar. Time has allowed the overlying snow to gain strength making it less likely to trigger the deeper weaknesses, but if you do hit the sweet spot, such as a shallow area, the resulting avalanche could have very serious consequences.