Fast travel and a well settled snowpack make this a good time to go exploring.
Weather Forecast
Monday: Cloudy with sunny periods. Flurries (up to 5cm). Ridge wind mod SW. Alpine Low -7, High -3. Freezing level 1800m.Tuesday: Mixed sun and cloud. Ridge wind light (gusting strong) SW. Alpine Low -8, High -3. Freezing level 1700m.Wednesday: Cloudy. Flurries (up to 6cm), Ridge wind light E. Alpine Low -3, High -0. Freezing level 2100m.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 25mm of precipitation fell over the past weekend (snow above 2200m, rain below). This has formed isolated pockets of stubborn storm slabs in the alpine. The snowpack is shrinking fast at road level, but there is a 2-2.5m snowpack at ridgetop near the divide. Basal facets persist in some locations but have been unreactive since mid-March.
Avalanche Summary
Nearby operations reported a natural cycle of small loose wet avalanches over the weekend.
Confidence
Due to the quality of field observations
Problems
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.
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.