Keep an eye out for buried wind slabs on north and north east aspects in the alpine.
Weather Forecast
Cool temperatures, with freezing levels remaining below 1100m for next 3 days. Light Southwest wind, gusting to moderate. Light scattered flurries amounting to less than 5cm.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 35 cm fell in the Icefields area on Thursday with moderate SW winds building touchy soft slabs on lee slopes at tree line and above. Wind slabs to 90cm think overlying weak facets on north aspects found. Rain below tree line- possible rain crusts.
Avalanche Summary
Saturday natural activity noted up to size 3 running relatively far on a variety of aspects mainly in alpine. Explosive work was mixed results with sluff's to soft slabs up to size 2.5 on the range of aspects and elevations. On Friday, a skier accidental at Parkers Ridge, size 3, 1 involvement, no injuries. Depth 50-150cm x 400m x 400m.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations on Monday
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.