Avalanche Danger is climbing to CONSIDERABLE or HIGH each day due to solar radiation and daytime heating. This rise will occur sooner tomorrow as the overnight recovery (re-freeze) is not expected to be very deep.
Confidence
Good - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain
Weather Forecast
Yet another sunny and warm day on Tuesday with light to moderate West winds. Freezing levels are expected to reach at least 2600m. Wednesday is a different story with rain possible late that afternoon and freezing levels at 2200m.
Avalanche Summary
Avalanche activity up to size 2.5 was observed today. All of the slides were solar related and included loose avalanches and slab avalanches that were natural triggered, cornice triggered and one small skier-triggered slab. Many slides are now failing on deeper layers down 100cm or more.
Snowpack Summary
Little change in the snowpack lately, except that it continues to settle. Crusts are melting and re-freezing each day on solar aspects, and are becoming steadily thicker with each passing cycle. Cornices continue to be a concern and are visibly sagging from the long period of intense solar radiation.
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.
Cornices
Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.