Spring has sprung! The snowpack is now considered to be in "spring conditions". This means it will swing from low avalanche hazard in the morning to high avalanche hazard as the snowpack warms. Starting early is critical to safe mountain travel.
Weather Forecast
The next week we will settle into a spring weather pattern. Warm days and cool nights will put the snowpack through a daily freeze/thaw cycle.
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new today.
Snowpack Summary
The forecasted storm lacked the punch we were expecting. Crusts and cornices are the main concern at the moment, and for the rest of the spring. Any new snow that does come in will sit on a crust and will be reactive for a day or two after the snow. As we move through spring, temperatures largely dictate the snow stability and avalanche hazard. Once the frozen snowpack warms up and melts, hazard will rapidly increase. Future storms will certainly offer more snow, but these will only pose short term concerns immediately after, or during the storm.
Problems
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.
Cornices
Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.