Take advantage of the fine weather and use a cautious investigative approach before making any big, bold plans.
Be aware that very slick conditions currently exist below around 1650m.
Treat areas of fresh wind-loaded snow with caution.
On east aspects more likely above 2000m in steeper isolated areas, recent wind slabs may still be reactive.
Be aware of the runout consequences, as even a small slide can have bad results.
On the 18th of July, around the Isobel Glacier area, some very small, size 1 wind slab avalanches ran on ridge tops on east aspects at around 2000-2300m as a result of strong westerly winds and 5cm of overnight snowfall.
Evidence of some older avalanches from the 13th to 15th of July on very steep, south-facing aspects around Mt Tyndall is shown in the photo.
If you see any recent avalanche occurrences or have any relevant snowpack information or photos, you can share them via the Public Observations link on the NZAA home page.
Most of the region picked up another 4-5cm of new snow on Saturday evening with strong south west winds. Gale westerly winds last Friday and Saturday have redistributed the 60-70cm of storm snow from last week and mostly stripped west aspects back to hard ice or rock and loaded East aspects above 2000m with 1-2m of dense snow. At around 1800m the snow depth is around 50-70cm and capped by a supportive rain crust.
In some isolated areas on mostly south-facing aspects above around 1900m, weak faceted forms may be starting to develop and should be monitored with future loading.
Forecast For Monday
Fine.
Wind at 1000 metres Light.
Wind at 2000 metres Light, southwesterly 30 km/h developing in the morning.
Wind at 3000 metres Southwesterly 30 km/h.
Freezing level 1800 metres, lowering to 1400 metres by evening.
Issued: 12:28pm Sun 19 Jul
West-facing aspects may be stripped back to firm ice at all elevations. Below 1700m where rain-soaked snow has frozen, conditions are very slick.
Moderate
New Zealand Avalanche Advisory (NZ Mountain Safety Council)
