Avalanche Forecast

Observations are limited at this time of year. No new avalanches have been reported or observed. Expect to see natural activity increase as the day warms up. If you do head into the backcountry please submit a MIN report!

10 - 20 cm of storm snow over the south and central island and 30 cm in localized areas. This has added to the previous storm snow to create a 30-60 cm storm slab. In open alpine and treeline areas, moderate winds are expected to create deep pockets of wind slab in lee areas.

70-100 cm of snow can be found in the alpine, with wind-loaded areas up to 150 cm.

Every storm helps to creep the snowpack toward threshold for avalanches however some areas at treeline and most areas below treeline have yet to overcome ground roughness and remain below the threshold.

Friday night

Cloudy with flurries. Snowfall will be heaviest from 16:00-18:00 hours. Clearing through the early morning with isolated flurries. Moderate south to southeast ridge winds. Alpine temperature of -5 and freezing levels 300m

Saturday

Scattered clouds clearing throughout the day. Isolated flurries in the morning. Moderate easterly ridge winds easing to light in the afternoon. Freezing levels will rise to 1200 m through the day bringing alpine temperatures with it to +1.

Clear skies with light southeast to east winds. Alpine temperature high +5 low +1. Freezing levels continue to rise to 2100 meters.

Clear skies and light variable winds. Alpine temperature high -1. Freezing levels drop down to 800 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Give the new snow time to settle and stabilize before pushing into bigger terrain.
• Extra caution for areas experiencing rapidly warming temperatures for the first time.
• Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.