Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain on Friday

Friday: Light to locally moderate snowfall continuing overnight / Strong to extreme southwest winds / Freezing level at 900mSaturday: Light snowfall / Moderate to strong northwest winds / Freezing level at 500mSunday: Light snowfall / Light southwest winds / Freezing level at 300m

Natural activity to size 2.5 was reported in the north of the region. The cycle ran in steep terrain on all aspects at treeline and above, and occurred in response to recent storm loading.

Up to 20cm of recently fallen snow has been distributed into deeper pockets of wind slab at treeline and in the alpine. In general, between 20-40cm of storm snow sits over a variety of old surfaces which include facets, crusts and isolated pockets of surface hoar (sheltered treeline and below treeline). There is very limited information about the nature of this interface, with the only reports suggesting reactivity in sheltered, shady treeline and below treeline slopes (preserved surface hoar). I would stress the importance of digging down to find and test weak layers.A strong mid-pack currently overlies a weak base layer of facets/depth hoar. It is worth noting that the snowpack in general is quite shallow compared to averages; triggering the basal weakness may still be possible from thin spots, rocky outcrops or under the weight of larger triggers such as cornice fall.