Winds will switch to more northerly and moderate on Friday building windslabs on more southern aspects overlying the crust. Be sure to evaluate the bond with the new snow and and the underlying crust.
Windslabs are being noted in immediate lees along ridgecrests on all aspects. Where these windslabs are overlying a crust they may be more reactive. As north winds begin overnight, they may become more developed on southern aspects.
Carefully evaluate the bond of the new snow to the underlying crust. Steep solar aspects and unsupported terrain should be carefully considered or avoided...
Light snow will continue throughout the evening with total accumulations of 5-10cm. Thursday morning only had about 5cm of accumulated snow by 10am. Winds will be slightly more moderate from the north on friday as cooler air temperatures move into the region. Daytime highs will be around -10C
Loose dry avalanches continued on Thursday with most avalanches being around sz 1 from steep unskiable terrain. A sz 2 cornice failure was observed near heros bowl that hit the normal north facing ski line from heros knob. Wednesday forecasters triggerred a sz 2.5 skier remote avalanche on a SE facing ridge at 2500m in the Highwood pass area. The slab failed down 40cm on the recent melt freeze crust, was 200m wide and ran for 500m. This is a good indication that failures on the crust are beginning to develop.
20-30cm of recent storm snow is beginning to settle under the influence of warm temperatures and light winds. Isolated windslabs are being found along ridgelines in the Alpine but these slabs do not extend far downslope. The recent snow is poorly bonded to the underlying melt freeze crust on isolated steep solar aspects and forecasters were able to remote trigger a SE facing bowl from a ridge at 2500m. Use caution if travelling on these solar aspects and check the bond with the new snow and the underlying crust.
