If continuous jump turns in breakable crust is your thing, you could be in luck today ! The snowpack is going through a reset. Give it a few days. The team needs to gather more information.
Plenty of snow transport yesterday, more today. Wind-slab conditions will continue to build. Winds will change direction. Yesterdays newly formed slab was unreactive to ski cutting. Be careful in and around complex terrain. Avalanches may be in the small range. However, an event could push over something large and painful.
No new activity reported. Over the weekend a full scale avalanche rescue was initiated with search dogs from Wanaka, police and the amazing crew from the remarkables patrol. Conditions were challenging for all. The site was cleared and no one was caught or buried.
Our local snowpack has been blasted by a hairdryer on full heat, yuck ! Today a polar blast will lock everything up. Little change in snowpack strength yesterday. Plenty of wind transport at ridge crest. Expect wind-slab conditions to continue developing with a dusting of snow forecast. Exposed areas will be scoured back to hard ice in places.
The freezing level at 100 m, that's not a misprint ! Mostly cloudy with snow flurries clearing in the afternoon. Severe gale SW winds turning SE during the afternoon and easing.
We have some concerns about a sliding danger. Areas of hard ice have been exposed by gale strength winds. Any snow that has been moist over the past 48 hrs will now be re-frozen. Adding ski/foot crampons and an ice axe would be a good idea at present.
Low
New Zealand Avalanche Advisory (NZ Mountain Safety Council)
