Cloudy skies Saturday night combined with high freezing levels on Sunday will increase the likelihood of large natural and human triggered avalanches. Avoid slopes with overhead exposure where falling cornices could trigger large avalanches.
Summary
Confidence
High
Weather Forecast
Clouds may roll in overnight on Saturday which would likely result in poor "crust recovery" overnight. Freezing levels are forecasted to rise to 2200m on Sunday with flurries producing a bit of snow in the afternoon/evening. Monday looks cloudy with slightly lower freezing levels. Tuesday is should be clear and cool with freezing levels dropping sharply. Light to moderate southerly winds until Monday evening when they drop off.
Avalanche Summary
On Friday, near Valemount there was a small point release loose wet avalanche that went airborne over cliffs and triggered a size 2 slab avalanche on the late February weak layer. Small loose wet avalanches and failing cornices triggering slab avalanches on the late February layer would be on the forefront of my mind as I travel through the mountains this weekend.
Snowpack Summary
At ridgetop, cornices are huge and could become increasingly touchy with forecast solar radiation. Old wind slabs still linger on lee features at treeline and in the alpine. 70-100cm below the surface you'll find a persistent weak layer comprised of surface hoar, facets and/or a thick crust. This layer seems variably reactive. In other words, it's still really touchy in some places while in other spots it's really tough to trigger, and there's not much of a reliable pattern telling us what exact aspects are most suspect. I'd continue to be suspicious of steep, unsupported features at treeline and in the alpine as this layer has the potential to produce very large avalanches.
jsmith,
Avalanche Canada
