Avalanche Forecast

A few small loose wet avalanches were naturally triggered on steep slopes Wednesday and Thursday. No recent persistent slab avalanche activity has been reported in the last week. If you go out in the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

In sheltered locations, 10-20 cm of snow overlies a surface hoar layer, while a melt-freeze crust is found on steep solar aspects. Surface snow is moist from 1900 m and below. A prominent rain crust is found 40 to 70 cm deep, which is strong enough to cap another preserved layer of surface hoar found in most areas. Professionals are reporting that this weak layer is either decomposing or gaining strength as there have not been significant results on this layer during tests lately. Typical snowpack depths at treeline are 70 to 110 cm, and taper rapidly below treeline.

Thursday Night

Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries, trace accumulation, alpine wind southwest 30 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -2° C, freezing level 1700 m, possible temperature inversion.

Friday

Cloudy with 5 cm of snow in afternoon/ evening, alpine wind southwest 40 to 60 km/h, treeline temperature -1° C, freezing level 1700 m dropping to 500 m at night.

Saturday

Mix of sun and clouds with no precipitation, alpine wind northwest 30 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -8° C, freezing level 500 m.

Sunday

Cloudy with sunny periods with no precipitation, alpine wind southwest 20 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -8° C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Make observations and assess conditions continually as you travel.
• Carefully evaluate bigger terrain features on an individual basis before committing to them.
• Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.