Use caution in wind effected terrain. Reactive wind slabs have formed in exposed terrain.
Wait for the snow to settle and bond before stepping out onto large terrain features.
Fresh snow and strong winds have loaded lee slopes in exposed terrain. Expect this problem to be most reactive in ridge top lee features. If triggered these avalanches may travel farther and faster than expected on a buried crust.
Cornices grew substantially during the recent storm and are prominent on many ridgetops throughout the park. Limit your exposure to these massive overhead hazards especially during periods of rapid heating or cooling.
The new snow and wind caused a small natural avalanche cycle up to size 2.5 through the highway corridor on Tuesday.
Field team was also able to easily trigger several size 1 storm slabs from steep terrain at treeline.
A widespread, natural avalanche cycle occurred up to size 3.5 on Thursday and Friday of last week during the atmospheric river. Explosive avalanche control also produced results up to size 4.
Check out pics from the recent avalanche cycle in the MIN Reports.
15-50 cm of recent storm snow has been redistributed by strong SW winds creating wind slabs in exposed terrain. Expect challenging travel below treeline travel, and seek sheltered terrain to find the best riding.
Below the storm snow is a thick crust with moist snow below. Another crust from early March is buried 70-150 cm deep.
The Feb 9 and Jan 26 surface hoar layers are now buried 150-210 cm deep. These layers are not a concern for human triggering in the current conditions.
Spring weather brings continued convective flurries with season temps.
Tonight Clear. Alpine low -11°C. Winds SW 30-40km/h. Freezing level (FZL) valley bottom
Fri Cloudy w/sun/flurries. Snow 1-2cms. Alp high -6°C. Wind SW 25-45km/h. FZL 1500m
Sat Cloudy w/sun/flurries. Snow 1-2cms. Alp high -6°C. Wind SW 20-35 km/h. FZL 1400m
Sun Cloudy w/sun/flurries. Snow 1-2cms. Alp high -6°C. Wind SW 10-25km/h. FZL 1300m
