Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Intensity of incoming weather is uncertain for the entire period

Friday: Light flurries with strong westerly winds and freezing levels near valley bottoms. Saturday: Light to moderate snow with 10-20cm possible by the end of the day. Continued strong westerly winds and freezing levels rising throughout the day to 1800m by the evening. Sunday: Continued light flurries or rain at lower elevations with freezing levels as high as 2000m.

Recent explosive control throughout the region produced results up to Size 2.5 on the mid-February persistent weakness. The 20-50cm slabs were very touchy with some wide propagations.

A cohesive slab continues to settle over the mid-February surface hoar, which is generally down in the 40-55cm range. Recent reports include whumpfing and cracking, and moderate but sudden compression test results. This persistent weakness is susceptible to remote triggering and has the ability to propagate in low angled terrain, and the overlying slab structure creates the potential for step-down avalanches. Basal facets have only been reactive on steep, shallow, and rocky slopes, but operators continue to monitor this layer in tests. Triggering this deep persistent weak layer is unlikely, but shallow snowpack areas or shallow weak areas adjacent to deeper wind loaded slopes are the most suspect locations.