Low hazard does not mean no hazard.
Winter snow may still be encountered in the high alpine, travel accordingly.
Extreme south/southwest winds Tuesday night, followed by steady moderate Northerly winds, have redistributed snow in exposed terrain in the alpine. Assess the snowpack as you go, looking for these stiff deposits of snow.
Be aware of large cornices overhead, or as you approach/walk along ridgelines. There have been several close calls this week, with people getting too close and luckily not being taken with the collapsing mass of snow.
There were a few small avalanches in extreme terrain in the highway corridor on Friday.
Last Sunday, 2 people had a close call on Ursus Minor, narrowly being missed by a sz 2 which then launched over the cliffs below.
Also on Sunday, a skier was taken for a ride on Youngs Peak, and another triggered a large cornice along the ridge line.
Another close call with a cornice occurred along the ridgeline of Cheops on Sat.
Below treeline, you will find a well settled spring snowpack, with a strong surface crust that may break down during the heat of the day.
At Treeline we have a record low snow depth of ~210cm. With 5cm of new snow on a variable crust on all but high northerly aspects, which may still hold dry snow.
A melt-freeze crust, buried on March 26th, is down 30-40cm and extends into the alpine on solar aspects.
The Feb 3rd crust/facet layer persists at upper elevations, buried 80-140cm down.
Cool, stable weather is the trend as we head in to the weekend.
Tonight: Clear periods. Alpine Low -4 °C. Freezing level (FZL) 1500m. Light ridgetop wind.
Saturday: Mainly cloudy, isolated flurries. Alpine High -2 °C. FZL 1900m. Light W ridge wind.
Sunday: Sunny periods/isolated flurries. Low -7 °C, High -6 °C. FZL 1800m. Light SW wind.
Monday: Cloudy with flurries. Low -9 °C, High -4 °C. FZL 1700m. Light SW wind.
