Clouds may temper day-time warming. Minimize exposure to cornices and steep slopes that face the sun during the warmest part of the day.
Small loose dry or wet avalanches are possible in steep terrain facing the sun during the heat of the day. Cornices may also warm and weaken and could act as triggers for large slab avalanches.
Friday night: Clear, light west wind, alpine temperature -13 C, freezing level valley bottom.
Saturday: Increasing cloud, light northwest wind gusting moderate at ridge-tops, alpine temperature -6 C, freezing level 1300 m.
Sunday: Increasing cloud, isolated flurries in the afternoon with trace accumulations, light southwest wind gusting moderate at ridge-tops, alpine temperature -6 C, freezing level 1300 m.
Monday: Mostly cloudy, 5-10 cm of snow, light west wind, alpine temperature -7 C, freezing level 1300 m.
Over the past several days, avalanche activity was reported as natural loose dry or loose wet avalanches size 1-2 running in steep, sun-exposed terrain in the alpine. One large (size 2) slab avalanche released naturally as a result of strong solar radiation on a south aspect at 2500 m. There were also several large cornice failures on northerly aspects (up to size 2.5).
If you decide to travel in the backcountry, consider sharing your observations via the Mountain Information Network (MIN) to supplement our data stream as operators are shutting down. Even just a photo of what the day looked like would be helpful.
Surface conditions are highly variable with a mix of sun crusts, moist snow, hard wind slabs, and soft faceted snow. Reports indicate that surface hoar may be developing on the surface on sheltered, shady slopes. Cornices are large, looming, and weakening with warm temperatures and strong solar radiation.
A widespread weak layer of surface hoar buried in late February is now 60-100 cm deep. Sheltered north, northeast, and east facing slopes near treeline are the most likely locations to find this layer. Avalanche activity on this layer was last reported on March 8th. There is a low likelihood of triggering an avalanche on this layer, but the consequences of doing so would be high.
