Keep an eye on how hot the slopes are getting from the warm Baja air and the sunshine. Natural activity will peak with this input of heat.
Weather Forecast
Warm and sunny in the alpine while cool with possible clouds in the valley bottoms. A warm flow of air from the south has jacked up temp's in the alpine, while trapping cold air in the valley bottoms. Sun, alpine high of 1*C, and calm winds today. Tuesday will see freezing levels drop to 1400m, cloudy periods, and light SE winds.
Snowpack Summary
Above freezing temp's has accelerated slab development at tree-line, as well as helped create a surface crust, especially on steep solar aspects. Isolated wind slabs exist in the alpine in exposed areas and near ridge lines on all aspects. The Jan 2 freezing rain crust is down ~90cm. The Nov 21st interface is now 1-2m in deep.
Avalanche Summary
Several natural avalanches sz 2-3 were observed from S and SW aspects yesterday with the intense sunshine and above freezing levels around tree-line elevations. Frequent Flyer left debris across the skin-track up Connaught Creek. Snowballing and pinwheels were seen rolling from steep solar aspects as the sun cooked these slopes in the afternoon.
Problems
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.
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.
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.