A significant avalanche cycle is underway. Conservative terrain selection Saturday is essential. Avoiding avalanche terrain would be wise.
Significant snowfall over the last week combined with two periods of strong to extreme wind has created widespread wind slabs in the alpine. Be wary of exposure to loaded slopes and fresh cornice growth at alpine elevations.
Deep, loose dry snow exists in the alpine. Saturday's moderate winds or solar inputs can be expected to generate sluffs in gullies and down steep alpine faces. These sluffs can easily trigger wind slabs as they impact snow slopes below.
Rain below 2200m and warm temperatures weakened and broke down surface crusts adding a significant amount of heat to the snowpack Friday. It will not take much heating to weaken these crusts again on Saturday
An additional 5 to 10 cm is expected overnight with rain at lower elevations until early hours Saturday as freezing levels drop to valley bottom. Clearing is expected west of the divide with some clouds and flurries potentially lingering to the East. Freezing levels reach around 2000m Saturday afternoon as moderate alpine winds back to light.
Between 60-100 cm of snow has fallen in the last week with snowpack values reaching seasonal highs 2000m and above. Extreme west winds Wed and Fri created widespread windslabs in alpine areas and continued sluffing in steep terrain. Wet snow and weak crusts below 2000m with warm temps and 10-15mm of rain Friday.
Poor visibility with rain below 2000m today. A Cycle of loose dry and loose wet avalanches out of steep terrain is evident below the low ceiling. One slab at approx 1900m on a N aspect stepped down twice to about 80 and 100cm evidence for the idea that N and E aspects were not affected by the significant warming cycle in March.
