Summer-like weather will dominate this week. With light winds and high temperatures, you'll be seeking out summery activities! Keep in mind that upper reaches of hiking trails are still snowbound, and travel through avalanche runout zones.
Weather Forecast
A real heat wave is forecast, with the freezing level climbing steadily on Monday, to hover around 3800m for Tuesday and Wednesday. That's about as high as the top of Mt Robson! Mainly sunny skies and light winds don't promise much cooling, although on the clearest nights we could get some very temporary surface crust recovery.
Snowpack Summary
The snowpack is isothermal (punchy and wet to ground). Surface and near-surface Crusts may recover briefly after cool, clear nights, but will rapidly break down with the new day. North aspects in the alpine may be an exception, where 15cm of recently fallen snow will probably be moist, overlying a crust. Low, sunny slopes in the East are dry.
Avalanche Summary
Numerous small (Size 1 - 1.5) Loose Wet avalanches were observed on Friday and Saturday, as 20cm of cold storm snow became moist. A Size 1 cornice fall was observed on Sunday morning.
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.
Wet Slabs
Wet Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) that is generally moist or wet when the flow of liquid water weakens the bond between the slab and the surface below (snow or ground). They often occur during prolonged warming events and/or rain-on-snow events. Wet Slabs can be very unpredictable and destructive.
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.