There are a couple of layers of concern in the upper snowpack. Take the time to dig down and evaluate the layers before committing to bigger terrain.
Weather Forecast
Monday will bring a mix of sun and cloud with no precipitation. Temperatures will be warm with highs near 0 °C at ridge-top. Winds are expected to be light from the SW. Not much change for Tuesday and Wednesday except a slight chance of flurries on Wednesday.
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new observed or reported today.
Snowpack Summary
Variable wind effect in the alpine, with areas of hard slab, soft slab, exposed crusts, soft snow and everything in between. In some areas the wind slabs extend slightly down into Treeline, but this condition is not widespread. The Jan 6th surface hoar seems quite spotty in distribution, and is not overly reactive to ski cutting in areas skied today. The main concern in the upper snowpack is the Dec 15th interface (surface hoar, sun crust or 10cm layer of facets) which is now buried 50 to 60cm at Treeline. Forecasters continue to watch the basal layers (November and October crusts) and just recently the Nov 26th crust became reactive in snow stability tests.
Problems
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.