Freezing temperatures at night will help the snowpack lock up and stabilize. The biggest concern to look out for today will be small wet-loose avalanches on steep slopes, especially in steep chutes and below cliff bands. Warming temperatures in the afternoon will make triggering these small avalanches possible today. Steering clear of sun baked slopes in the afternoon will help manage this problem.
New snow from last week and above freezing temperatures in the afternoon will make small wet loose or "point release" avalanches possible today. Though these avalanches will be small and not big enough to bury a person, they could be big enough to knock you off your feet. Managing sluff will be the biggest issue to contend with as the sun pokes out in the afternoon.
On Monday, March 27th we toured out near Stevens Peak. We experienced typical spring bi-polar weather with the sun poking out intermittently. As we evaluated the snowpack in our pit on a north aspect, we watched small natural "point release" avalanches occur below cliff bands. We also noted old debris from other small wet loose avalanches that had occurred naturally. We did not find any overly concerning results in our stability tests- in fact it seems like our snowpack is "locking up" quite nicely, and that the new snow is bonding pretty well to the previous snow.
A brief appearance from winter again last week delivered some new snow throughout the valley. This new snow has been making for some great skiing! The "sluff" from this new snow and warming temps may not be enough to bury an individual, but certainly could be big enough to knock you off your feet and sweep you over consequential terrain. Keep this in mind when considering stepping out into steep terrain.
