Spring-like conditions should continue. Be cautious on steep slopes if the snow feels moist or wet.
Confidence
High - The weather pattern is stable
Weather Forecast
FRIDAY: Sunny, light to moderate southwesterly winds, freezing level around 3000 m.SATURDAY: Increasing cloud with trace precipitation, moderate to strong southwesterly winds, freezing level around 2500 m.SUNDAY: Mostly sunny, light to moderate southwesterly winds, freezing level around 3400 m.
Avalanche Summary
Numerous loose wet avalanches up to size 2 were observed within the region on Wednesday. Widespread pin-wheeling and snowballing was observed from steep, sun-exposed terrain. One wet slab was triggered from a loose wet avalanche around treeline, which was suspected to have released on a late-November rain crust.
Snowpack Summary
Dramatic warming and clear skies have caused widespread melting of the surface snow, especially on south-facing slopes. Crusts may form overnight but they will melt quickly in the mornings. Surface hoar is growing at and near treeline in shady locations and during the nights, but it may melt with the warm temperatures. The 40-60 cm of storm snow that fell last week is rapidly settling and generally bonding well to the late-November rain crusts. At high elevations, shifting winds (first from the south, and more recently from the north) have blown snow around in exposed areas creating drifts and scoured areas.
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.
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.