Confidence
Fair - Wind effect is extremely variable
Weather Forecast
Arctic high will remain in the forecast region for the next few days. Temperatures reported down to -19 at 2000 M. Freezing levels to remain at valley bottom for the Sea to sky region.
Avalanche Summary
Avalanche control in the region produced soft slabs to size 1.5 at higher elevations that formed during snowfall and wind event on Sunday night. A skier-triggered size1 wind slab was reported close to Mt Brew in the Callaghan area. No reports of recent avalanche activity.Suspect wind slab formation created by the N winds.
Snowpack Summary
Snow depths are highly variable throughout the region, though reports suggest there is an average of about 120cm of snow at tree line elevations. Terrain below treeline is reported to be mostly below threshold for avalanche activity.The 25-45cm of snow that fell on the weekend should be bonding well to old surfaces, but has been redistributed by strong northerly winds. This reverse loading pattern has created new windslabs on south-facing terrain.Crusts have been found deeper in the snowpack with facets at higher elevations. Observers are not identifying any of these as cause for concern at this time, but worth remembering as the season develops.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.