Avalanche Forecast

Moderate

Natural avalanches are expected on Wednesday in areas with more than 30 cm of snow and on wind-loaded slopes.

On Monday, a few small (size 1) soft slab avalanches were reported, some failing on a 10 to 25 cm deep surface hoar layer.

10 to 20 cm of snow overnight and another 10 to 25 cm during the day will cause short-lived instabilities within the storm snow. Expect deep wind drifts at higher elevations.

The upper snowpack has a mix of crusts and surface hoar layers 20 to 40 cm deep, but assessing the distribution of weak layers is difficult because in some areas a freezing rain crust destroyed or buried the surface hoar.

The lower snowpack is strong and bonded. Treeline snow depths range from 100 to 150 cm.

Tuesday Night

Cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow. 40 to 60 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 10 to 25 cm of snow. 50 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1500 m in the afternoon.

Thursday

Sunny with cloud increasing in the afternoon. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Friday

Up to 5 cm of snow overnight then clearing skies throughout the day. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +2 °C. Freezing level climbing to 3000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Only the most simple non-avalanche terrain with no overhead hazard is appropriate at this time.
• Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.