Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain

Warm air enters the region late Sunday persisting through mid-day Monday. Freezing levels are forecast to be between 1500 - 2000 m & winds in the alpine will be ripping out of SW @ 55 -95 k/hr A cold front moves in after lunch Monday lowering freezing levels and bringing light snowfall, 5 cm or so are expected Monday night. A weak ridge builds in Tuesday AM before a more organized low moves in Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday. We can expect 15 - 20 cm before the system exits to the east Wednesday afternoon.

Explosive work in the region produced significant results to size 3.5. Saturday. A cycle reportedly occurred on Saturday with many paths running naturally to size 3 at treeline & above, failing on the mid-december surface hoar/facet/crust combo.

100 - 140 cm of snow has fallen since Christmas bringing the total snowpack depth to around 200cm in the alpine. The holiday storm snow is now settling into a cohesive slab that sits above a very sensitive mid-December surface hoar layer. This layer continues to be sensitive to the weight of a skier or sledder. Testing on this layer reveals sudden planer results. Recent snowfall has also awoken the basil weakness near the ground on north facing slopes. This mixed bag of weaknesses has made for a very tricky avalanche situation as evidenced by the numerous accidents in the area over the last few days.