Temperatures are expected to be cool, but avalanche hazard will rise on sunny slopes during even short exposure to the intense March sun. Look to sheltered northerly aspects for better quality skiing.
Weather Forecast
Weather models are in poor agreement, but it is most likely that Tuesday will be mostly cloudy with a few sunny periods and occasional flurries. Alpine temperatures will climb to near -7 °C, with ridge-top winds out of the west at 20km/h. Freezing levels is forecast to reach 1800m. Wednesday and Thursday look to be very similar in terms of weather.
Avalanche Summary
Several loose dry avalanches up to size 1.5 in steep Alpine terrain on all aspects.
Snowpack Summary
New snow amounts are highly variable depending on drainage and elevation, with some areas receiving as much as 20cm of low density in the past 24 hours. This new snow sluffs easily in steep terrain in the Alpine on all aspects, and is running further on aspects that have a buried crust under the recent snow. Multiple buried sun or melt-freeze crusts now exist on most aspects with only sheltered northerly aspects escaping this condition. Variable wind slab conditions in upper Alpine on lee and cross-loaded features, but slab avalanche activity has tapered off in the past 48hrs.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.