Good travel conditions for the bigger tours right now, but remember the days are short. High freezing levels will very likely lead to loose wet avalanches on steep solar aspects. Be cautious with wind slabs in shallow snowpack areas.
Weather Forecast
Conditions for Sunday are expected to be clear and sunny, very light winds and warm temperatures at upper elevations (freezing levels between 2700 and 2800m). A temperature inversion is expected to persist through to Monday.
Avalanche Summary
Very little avalanche activity has been observed over the past 72 hours. Very isolated pin-wheeling occurred in the afternoon on steep solar aspects.
Snowpack Summary
Surface hoar formation observed on sheltered northerly aspects and in dark, shady spots such as canyons and creek beds. The snowpack continues to settle due to mild daytime temperatures at upper elevations. Moist snow is found on steep solar aspects at Treeline and above, which is re-freezing into a crust overnight. Conditions in the Alpine range from scoured scree to dense wind slabs in lee and cross-loaded features, particularly near ridgelines. These wind slabs have been quite stubborn to trigger, but steep areas with shallow snowpack conditions remain a area of concern for triggering.
Problems
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.
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.