A refrozen snow surface makes the likelihood of triggering an avalanche low. Isolated instabilities may be found in spots that lack a hard supportable surface crust.
Wet loose slides are now generally unlikely with colder temperatures refreezing and strengthening the upper snowpack. Wet loose remains a potential problem in isolated areas where a solid refreeze of the snow surface has not occurred. Lower elevation steep southerly slopes are the most likely areas to watch for wet loose.
On our tour in the Jeru area of the Selkirks we found a widespread refrozen snow surface on all aspects in the middle and upper elevations. The low elevations continue to have lower snow coverage, with notable melt earlier this week during the warm and sunny weather. Less surface refreeze in the lower elevations leads to wet loose slides in small areas. Moving up in elevation, the snow is consolidating and setting up into a classic springtime snowpack. The upper snowpack is refreezing into a hard and supportable crust. Small amounts of forecasted new snow will unlikely be enough to dramatically raise danger but its possibility is something to keep in mind. Some isolated northerly aspects could lack the recent supportable surface crust and continue to harbor buried surface hoar 1-2 feet deep. Even though the snowpack is mostly stable right now due to the hard surface crust, keep the potential of isolated instabilities in mind while out trying to find decent quality riding conditions.
Uncertainty is inherent in the mountains, and it is sometimes, more or less than other times, stated in the avalanche forecast. If you've read this far, you must be interested. So prioritize what is important and consider contributing to a survey on avalanche forecast information. A little time can go a long way. It may inform the future and come back around to you in a better avalanche forecast. https://caic2024.avalancheresearch.ca/en/
Additionally - A full report of the local March 1st avalanche incident is posted.
