6am update: Heightened avalanche conditions exist on specific terrain features. On Tuesday, this includes small pockets of wind slab in immediate lees of ridgecrests and moistening snow on steep solar aspects during periods of strong sun.
Spring is a dynamic time of year where conditions can vary widely and change rapidly. Carefully assess your local conditions and pay attention to how the weather is affecting the snowpack throughout the day.
Recent snow has seen mild wind effect. Wind slabs have been soft and specific to immediate lees of ridge crests. They may remain triggerable by riders on Tuesday.
Loose wet avalanches will become increasingly likely on steep solar aspects as the surface becomes moist or wet with strong sun.
Over the weekend, numerous natural and skier-triggered loose dry avalanches were reported up to size 2 out of steep, north-facing terrain near treeline; and solar-triggered loose wet avalanches up to size 1 out of steep solar aspects at all elevations. Storm slabs were fairly unreactive with a single report of a skier-triggered size 1 on a northeast aspect near treeline, despite extensive ski cutting avalanche control work.
If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you are seeing by submitting a report to the Mountain Information Network.
A moist or crusty surface has likely formed on steep southerly aspects and low elevations. 20 to 40 cm of recent snow has seen modest wind effect, with wind loading mostly isolated to immediate lees of ridgetop. Recent snow appears to be bonding well to underlying surfaces including melt-freeze crusts.
The mid and lower snowpack consists of a number of old crusts and facetted snow that continue to be monitored, particularly in shallow snowpack areas.
Monday night
Partly cloudy. Light variable wind. Alpine low -10 °C. Freezing level valley bottom.
Tuesday
A mix of sun and cloud. Light variable wind. Alpine high -2 °C. Freezing level rises to 1400 m.
Wednesday
A mix of sun and cloud. Light southwest wind increasing to moderate. Alpine high -1 °C. Freezing level rises to 1500 m.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy. Moderate southwest wind. Alpine high 0 °C. Freezing level rises to 1800 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
