Avalanche Forecast

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy skies, no precipitation, light wind from the west, treeline temperatures drop to -6 C with freezing level dropping to valley bottom.

THURSDAY: Sunny in the morning with increasing cloud throughout the day, light wind from the southwest, treeline temperatures around -3 C with freezing level climbing to 1600 m.

FRIDAY: Cloudy with flurries easing off in the morning bringing up to 5 cm of new snow, moderate wind from the southwest, freezing level around 1500 m.

SATURDAY: Cloudy with flurries starting midday brining 5 to 10 cm of new snow, moderate wind from the southwest, freezing level around 1500 m.

On Tuesday there were numerous reports of reactive storm slab avalanches in the top 20 to 30 cm of new snow. This included several large natural avalanches (up to size 2.5 in wind loaded alpine terrain) and many small human-triggered slabs on all aspects and elevations.

Recent snowfall amounts taper with elevation. 20 to 40 cm of fresh snow can be found at upper elevations, while warm temperatures have left moist and crusty snow below 1800 m. The upper snowpack is becoming a complex mix of crusts from sun, warming, and rain over the past few weeks. There has been some evidence of isolated weak facets or surface hoar around these crusts (roughly 30 to 60 cm deep), but at this point triggering avalanches on these layers is not likely.

• Be careful with open slopes and convex rolls, especially in more extreme terrain.
• Stay off recently wind loaded slopes until they have had a chance to stabilize.
• Investigate the bond of the recent snow before committing to your line.
• If you are increasing your exposure to avalanche terrain, do it gradually as you gather information.