With recent snow and more on the way, be aware of extreme terrain and couloir/gully features whether you're skiing, boarding or ice climbing.
Small sluffs in big terrain can have serious consequences.
The base of the snowpack is weak, with facets/depth hoar. Recent warm temperatures/winds have promoted slab development in the mid and upper snowpack. Use caution with steep or planar slopes where failures of these slabs may be more likely to propagate. Watch for additional loading with new snow.
No new natural activity.
Ski hills are reporting several size 1 avalanches, with explosives control, in wind loaded features of the alpine and treeline.
5-10 cm of recent snow can be found in wind loaded features of the alpine which tapers significant with elevation. This new snow sits on a variety of surfaces (sun crusts, surface hoar, wind slab) at treeline and above.
The mid-pack contains a rain crust which can be found as high as 2300m in southern areas.
The base of the snowpack consists of a mix of weak facets and depth hoar.
Treeline snow depths range from 60-100 cm.
Snow is expected to arrive through the day Saturday, with 5-10cm expected. Winds are forecast to be strong at the start of the day on Saturday and taper off as the snow arrives in the afternoon. Friday's overnight low at treeline (2200m) is -15C and the daytime high on Saturday is -10C.
For more information, click Mountain Weather Forecast.
