Snow tests have shown that windslabs rest on a fragile, reactive layer of facets. Assess the snow carefully before venturing onto a slope. For more details, see the ''Problems'' tab.
We can hear a lot of whoumpfing as we move around the field right now. It's the facets (present on the New Year's crust) that are collapsing. Windslabs rest on these grains, and tests have shown that it's easy to initiate a fracture in this interface, and that it propagates easily. Be careful.
No new avalanche was reported or observed. If you go into the backcountry, thanks for sharing your observations at [email protected] or on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
The distribution of the snow cover is extremely variable, ranging from 0 to 180 cm. In the alpine and at treeline, the southern and eastern slopes are bare of snow due to the strong winds of the last storm. The snow has been redistributed to the western and northern slopes. On these slopes, there are windslabs resting on facets that developed on the New Year's crust.
Synopsis: The low-pressure system that brought us a few flakes on the weekend will give way to a high-pressure system on Monday, bringing cold temperatures and clear skies. Snow is expected to return on Wednesday.
Sunday evening and night: Mostly cloudy. Southwest wind 10-30 km/h. Minimum -12C.
Monday: Alternating sun and clouds. Wind southwest, 20 to 30 km/h. Maximum -15C.
Tuesday: Alternating sun and clouds. Wind south, 10 to 20 km/h. Maximum -10C.
Wednesday: Cloudy. 10 to 20 cm of snow. Wind north, 20 to 30 km/h. Maximum -8C.
For more details, check out the most recent alpine weather forecast.
