If the riding is good, the snowpack stability might not be.
Confidence
Fair - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
A mix of sun and cloud and no snow expected for Thursday and Friday with some very light flurries possible Friday afternoon into Saturday morning. Freezing levels reaching 1600 each day and winds remaining light but gusty from the southwest.
Avalanche Summary
No new reports of avalanches from the region on Tuesday or Wednesday morning.
Snowpack Summary
Surface hoar is likely growing on 10-20 cm of loose dry snow that is sluffing readily on a thick hard supportive rain crust that extends into alpine elevations. This near surface crust is effectively bridging triggers from penetrating to deeper persistent weaknesses that formed earlier in the season. However, on slopes above the recent rain line poorly bonded crusts, facets, and/or buried surface hoar may be susceptible to triggers. Including a weak layer of crust and/or facets that is now down between 70-100 cm. This buried crust from November may continue to be triggered by large additional loads. Pockets of fresh wind slab may also be triggered at or near ridgetops in areas where the snow was dry enough to be transported by the strong Southwest winds during the storm.
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.
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.