Avalanche Forecast

There have been no new avalanches reported in the last couple days.

A week ago (Sat Mar 23), three very large (size 3) persistent slab avalanches were reported, occurring on southerly alpine slopes and likely triggered by warming.

Dry snow still exists on north-facing slopes at upper elevations. A thin layer of surface hoar may be growing in sheltered terrain. In most areas, a thick widespread crust caps the snowpack. At lower elevations and on steep sunny slopes, the crust may soften with warming during the day or the snowpack may become isothermal.

Various weak layers, including crusts, facets, and/or surface hoar exist approximately 40 to 80 cm deep. An additional crust and facet layer may be found 100 to 150+ cm below the surface. This problem is trending into dormancy, however, lingering concern remains for human-triggering on these persistent weak layers.

Sunday Night

Mostly clear with incoming clouds. West-southwest ridgetop wind 30 to 60 km/h. Treeline temperature low -10 °C. Freezing level valley bottom.

Monday

Flurries, 5 to 15 cm. South ridgetop wind 20 to 40 km/h. Treeline temperature high -4 °C. Freezing level valley bottom.

Tuesday

Snow and flurries, 15 to 25 cm. Southwest ridgetop wind gusting to 60 km/h. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level near 800 m.

Wednesday

Cloudy with isolated flurries. Light and variable ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level valley bottom.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid freshly wind loaded features, especially near ridge crests, roll-overs and in steep terrain.
• Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
• Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.
• When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.