Mixed bag yesterday with slush melt then a front bringing freezing temperatures and snowfall for 30 minutes or so…a fairly warm one last night with exactly 0 degrees at 9:00 this morning, some high cloud above the alps brushing the hills at around 2000 m with blue skies and some puffy white/grey clouds. Snow will warm quickly in the sun though snow flurries are forecast and as the weather yesterday showed Spring can bounce back to Winter pretty quickly…pack layers for changing conditions through the day.
Backcountry Travel Advisory:
Friday nights snowfall was really heavy snow and is bonding due to to that. The snowpack is generally stabilising but there will still be areas of instability. Warm temperatures already so South facing solar aspects will warm quickly increasing the possibility of wet slides – exercise more caution as temperatures increase today.
Conditions are generally getting better but as well as the risk of the recent heavy snow sliding there could be old instabilities especially with warming even going down to the rain-crust of January 12th. It’s a big snow-pack and its all got to come down at some point…
Avalanche Hazard:
Alpine: Considerable
Tree line: Moderate
Below Tree Line: Moderate
See Below for International Danger scale classifications or click on the Canadian Avalanche Association web page for the International Danger Scale.
TEMPERATURE IN THE VILLAGE:
-1 degrees C.
TEMPERATURE AT TOP OF MOUNTAIN:
-3 degrees C.
WIND:
Light Westerlies.
VISIBILITY:
Excellent
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Happo-One:
BASE DEPTH: 150 cm(at the base); 295 cm(at 1500m)
Goryu/47:
BASE DEPTH:150 cm(at the base); 350 cm(at 1500m)
Tsugaike Kogen:
BASE DEPTH: 230 cm(at the base); 340 cm(at 1500m)
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LIFT OPERATION:
Goryu Toomi, Hakuba 47, Happo-One, Tsugaike Kogen, Iwatake, Cortina, Sanosaka, Sun Alpina, Minekata, Hakuba Highland, Yanaba, all open