Wide variability and springtime conditions exist. Cornices are a prime concern for avalanche triggering. Solar radiation is expected to be strong today, so timing and route selection will be important.
Weather Forecast
Clear skies this morning giving way to overcast skies as a weak disturbance moves through late this afternoon. Winds may keep things cool, but direct solar radiation will cause locally very warm conditions. Another low pressure is expected for Thursday and Friday, with cool unsettled weather for the weekend.
Snowpack Summary
In the alpine, due north aspects are maintaining dry snow conditions over multiple temperature crusts. Solar aspects have more crusts, and daytime warming is creating sticky, wet, and/or crusty conditions. At lower elevations (below 2200m), the snowpack is largely isothermal, but overnight re-freezing provides firm travel early in the morning.
Avalanche Summary
The number of avalanche observations is dropping off, in part due to fewer people in the backcountry to report. Cornice failures remain the biggest concern for triggering larger slab avalanches, which are mostly failing on the April 3 PWL (sun crust-surface hoar combo), down 40-80cm. Moist avalanches will be almost certain today.
Confidence
Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Friday
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.
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.