Be prepared for a firm surface early in the morning, but get your travelling done before the crusts soften to slop in the afternoon.
Cornices are huge and don't like the extreme temperature fluctuations at this time of the year. Give 'em a wide berth and don't linger below them!!
Flurries and strong Westerly winds will have created pockets of wind slabs in the Alpine and Treeline. These sit on a firm crust, the perfect bed surface to slide upon.
Use caution as you transition onto immediate lee terrain, like at ridge-top or on cross-loaded gullies.
Large cornices exist on most ridge crests and may be weak after the recent warm temperatures. Be aware of your overhead hazard and avoid exposure.
Sunshine and warm temperatures triggered a small loose wet avalanche cycle from steep terrain over the weekend.
A widespread, natural avalanche cycle occurred up to size 4.0 on Mar 19-20 during the atmospheric river filling the valley bottoms with huge debris piles in many locations. Check out pics from this exceptional avalanche cycle in the MIN Reports.
Flurries on Monday night / Tuesday brought a dusting of snow over a widespread crust. Very high elevation north facing slopes may still hold dry snow.
A thick rain crust from the March atmospheric river sits 20-50cm below the surface.
Below treeline the surface varies from isothermal sticky snow to refrozen tree bombs and huge debris fields from the massive avalanche cycle in March.
Increasing sun and no new snow/rain as the week moves along, with daily freezing levels (FZL) increasing into the weekend.
Tonight Clear periods. Alp low -6°C. Winds NW 15-30Km/h. Freezing level 900m
Thurs Sun & cloud. Alp High -1°C. Wind W 15km/h. FZL 2800m
Fri Sun & cloud. Alp High 5°C. Light ridge winds. FZL 2600m
Sat Cloud & sun. Alp High 7°C. Light ridge winds. FZL 2800m
