All forecasts are saying that we are on deck for a major storm tomorrow. Avoid exposure to avalanche terrain, this would include exposure to avalanche runout zones.
This problem includes new slabs and older buried slabs. Again, the bond with the old snow will determine how big a problem these actually are. Assume the bond is poor!
The incoming snow will be warm and heavy, similar to our last storm. Depending on how it sticks to the old snow, we may have a serious avalanche concern.
So far this layer has woken up with any new load. We expect the same for this storm. Avoid exposure to avalanche terrain and keep overhead exposure in mind, even in valley bottoms.
As of Friday afternoon, a storm is just starting to approach us from the SW. We are expecting 30-40cm by tomorrow evening. Warm temps and strong winds will accompany the snow for the entire event. The daytime high will be -5 with a cooling trend as the front passes. Alpine wind speeds will hit 75km/hr and be steady out of the SW.
Nothing new.
Steady SW winds have kept the windslabs building. They are wide spread in the alpine on easterly aspects and extend well into treeline. Even open areas at valley bottom have a wind slab feel to them. Lots of crossloading in gullies at the moment. Given how these new slabs are formed from old snow, we are expecting a poor initial bond with any new snow. The midpack is still supportive at all elevations and travel is reasonable while we wait for the new snow to arrive. The ground layers remain the question mark. They may not tolerate a heavy load.
