One more day of exploring in the sun before cloud and drizzle dampen the mood. Bring sharp tools to deal with hard crust and start and finish early to avoid getting caught in isothermal snow.
Large cornices still loom over some ridgelines and they won't hang on forever. Be aware of these overhead hazards and stay well back from overhanging cornices on ridgelines.
Where snow still exists on solar slopes, slushy, isothermal conditions can develop during the heat of the day. Plan your route with this in mind to avoid getting surprised by difficult travel and rising wet loose avalanche danger.
A cornice failure was observed near the Lions on the North Shore at around noon on Monday, believed to have failed within 12 hours of that time. Check out the report HERE.
Otherwise, no new avalanches have been reported and little activity is expected under current conditions.
Observations are starting to taper off in many regions. If you get out into the backcountry, post a MIN!
All of the region's snowpack has now seen temperatures well above 0 °C. Clear overnight periods will allow surface crusts to form before daytime warming softens the surface again. Limited dry snow may remain on the region's highest north-facing slopes.
Expect surfaces to become moist during the day and even isothermal on sun-facing slopes. Wet loose avalanche danger emerges when this condition is in play, a counterpoint to slip-and-fall hazards when and where the surface is well-frozen. Outside of oscillating surface conditions, there are no layers of concern in the snowpack, which exists mainly above 1000 m.
Thursday Night
Clear skies. 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 7 °C. Freezing level 2700 m.
Friday
Sunny before clouding over near end-of-day. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high temperature 10 °C. Freezing level 2700 m.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy with scattered showers, 1 to 4 mm. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high temperature 7 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy with scattered showers, 1 to 4 mm. 10 to 15 km/h variable ridgetop wind. Treeline high temperature 7 °C. Freezing level 2400 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
