Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Forecast precipitation (either snow or rain) amounts are uncertain.

Thursday night: Cloudy, 15-25 cm of snow, strong southwest wind, treeline temperatures near -3 C, freezing level near 500 m.

Friday: Mainly cloudy, 5-10 cm of snow, strong southwest wind decreasing to moderate, treeline temperatures -4 C, freezing level near 500 m and dropping to valley bottom overnight. 

Saturday: Mix of sun and cloud, isolated light flurries, moderate west wind, treeline temperatures -4 C, freezing level rising to 500 m and dropping to valley bottom overnight.

Sunday: Mix of sun and cloud, light northwest wind, treeline temperatures near -1 C, freezing level rising to 1000 m and dropping to valley bottom overnight.

Since Monday, there have been observations of several large (size 2) storm slabs, numerous small to large (size 1-2) loose wet avalanches, and one instance of a large (size 2) wet slab that failed to the ground from a steep, shallow feature. 

Large natural and explosive triggered glide slab avalanche activity has been ongoing for the past few weeks. Glide cracks releasing as full depth glide slab avalanches are extremely difficult to predict. Best practice is to avoid slopes with glide cracks.

An incoming storm is expected to bring 20-30 cm of new snow by Friday afternoon accompanied by strong southwest winds. The new snow will form fresh storm slabs that will likely be more reactive in wind-loaded features.

Cornices are large, looming, and capable of triggering large avalanches when they fail. Previous weak layers are now deeply buried and have not resulted in any recent avalanches. At lower elevations, the new snow is falling on a melt-freeze crust.

• Storm snow and wind is forming touchy slabs. Use caution in lee areas in the alpine and treeline.
• Dial back your terrain choices if you are seeing more than 25cm of new snow.
• Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind exposed terrain.
• Avoid exposure to slopes that have cornices overhead.