South Columbia

Expect new snow and strong winds to form wind slabs and grow cornices. Sloughing, and cracking around skis and sleds are signs that the new snow is bonding poorly to the old surface. Avoid wind loaded areas with pillowy or chalky looking snow.

Moderate - Wind speed and direction is uncertain on Sunday

Monday: Mix of sun and cloud / Moderate to strong westerly winds / Alpine temperature of -14Tuesday: Light flurries / Moderate to strong westerly winds / Alpine temperature of -12Wednesday: Light flurries / Light and variable winds / Alpine temperature of -13

On Saturday, fairly widespread skier-controlled wind slab avalanche activity was observed. Similar activity is expected on Sunday and Monday with additional snowfall and strong winds.Although deeper, persistent avalanche activity has become less frequent over the past week, light triggers in shallow rocky areas, as well as large triggers such as a cornice collapse or step down from a wind slab release, still have the potential to result in large destructive avalanches.

About 15-30 cm of new snow now covers old surfaces which include of sugary facets, a sun crust on solar aspects and surface hoar on shaded, wind-sheltered slopes. I suspect strong winds will have redistributed much of the new snow into fresh wind slabs in exposed terrain.40-60 cm below the surface you'll likely find another interface with similar character and distribution that was buried mid-February. This layer has been reactive in recent snowpack tests and is definitely worth keeping an eye on as the overlying slab gains thickness and cohesion.Within the mid and lower snowpack are several persistent weak layers that are beginning to show signs of improving but still remain suspect. Two surface hoar/ crust layers buried in January are now 150-200 cm below the snow surface. At least one of these layers can be found on all aspects and elevations.Deeper in the snowpack (200 - 250 cm deep) is a facet/crust/surface hoar layer buried in December that is most prevalent at treeline elevations and below.Near the base of the snowpack is a crust/facet combo layer buried in late November.