Solar warming is intensified this time of year.
Get up and complete your mission early before the heat of the day destabilizes the snowpack.
High elevation, N-facing slopes hold dry snow and a "sneaky" surface hoar problem. Watch for slabs up there.
Moderate to strong winds in the past week have formed wind slabs on lee features in the alpine. This includes Northerly wind on Wednesday. On high alpine North facing slopes, surface hoar might be lingering beneath this slab. And has produced skier triggered size 2-2.5 avals.
Large cornices are present on lee ridge top features throughout the park. These large, heavy masses of snow will weaken with warming and direct solar radiation. Pay attention to this large overhead hazard and plan your travel accordingly.
Intense spring sun will weaken the upper snowpack, especially on steep solar slopes. Rider triggering is also possible. Use caution in steep terrain and around terrain traps.
Few natural avalanches have been observed on the highway corridor over the past 4 days.
Neighboring operations are reporting small wet loose avalanches on solar facing terrain and natural cornice falls.
On Apr 14, a party observed several sz 2 wet/loose avalanches from steep, S-facing terrain on Mt Green.
On Apr 11, a skier triggered sz 2 wind slab on the Dome glacier at 2450 m, NE asp.
Also on Apr 11, a wide-propagating, rider triggered sz 2.5 on Bruins Glacier.
Daily melt/freeze cycles are affecting the surface of the snowpack on solar slopes and all aspects up to 2200m, with several crusts of variable strength in the upper snowpack. High alpine, north facing slopes still hold dry snow. A spotty, buried surface hoar layer exists down 15-40cm in sheltered north alpine areas above ~2300m. This layer has been reactive to human triggering in the past week.
Below treeline, conditions are variable and challenging travel exists.
A final day of clear skies on Friday and strong solar inputs. Saturday a cold front ushers in flurries/showers.
Tonight Clear. Alp low -2°C. Ridge wind NW 10-25 km/h. Freezing Level (FZL) 1500m
Fri Sun & cloud. Alp high 2°C. Ridge wind SW 15-25 km/h. FZL 2400-2900m
Sat Cloudy/flurries. 5 cm Alp high 0°C. Ridge wind W 20-30km/h. FZL 2200m
Sun Cloudy/flurries 5cm Alp high -2°C. Ridge wind light. FZL 1900m.
