West Slopes Central

After a week of sun, clouds and light rain or snow move back in. Glide avalanches in extreme terrain and falling cornices are the main hazards. Stay alert to overhead hazards and limit exposure beneath them.

A quarter inch of light rain at low and mid elevations, and a few inches of moist new snow up high, shouldn’t do much to change avalanche danger. But as they say, “Low danger isn’t no danger,” so keep the following in mind this weekend:

• Fresh snow and some wind up high could form thin slabs—don’t get caught off guard by shallow new snow after a week of sun.
• Isolated mountain hazards like icefall, rockfall, and glide avalanches remain a concern, especially in steep, rugged alpine terrain.
• Cornices will continue to sag with above-freezing temperatures, and rain could further weaken them.
• Small route adjustments—like avoiding travel under sagging cornices or beneath glide cracks—can go a long way towards reducing risk.
• You may still be able to push loose wet snow on very steep slopes. Most will be small, but they can still carry you into terrain traps.

Conditions in the forecast zones adjacent to West Central are trending toward a spring snowpack, but the transition isn’t complete. Most areas saw a solid overnight refreeze, with a supportable crust in the morning that softened with daytime warming. Wet avalanche activity has been limited, with only small wet loose avalanches observed in very steep terrain during the warmest part of the day. Strong overnight refreezes have done a good job keeping things in check.

That said, coverage and travel conditions are becoming the bigger story. Lower elevations are melting out quickly, with thin, patchy snow, open creeks, and increasing obstacles. At higher elevations, especially on northerly aspects, more winter-like snow still lingers beneath surface crusts. Isolated alpine hazards remain, including glide cracks, small cornices, and the potential for minor snow shedding from steep terrain.