Strong winds have formed hard wind slabs in exposed terrain. Take time to evaluate the snowpack before deciding to travel into steeper wind loaded terrain.
Weather Forecast
The arctic ridge is well entrenched and cold temperatures and wind chill continues. Light snowfall, cloudy skies and alpine temperature of -12C is forecast for today. Sunday should be similar. Clear skies and temperatures plunging into the -20C range will start the new work week.
Snowpack Summary
Moderate to strong winds earlier in the week formed hard, variable windslabs that should be expected on exposed terrain at and above treeline. The bond of the most recent storm snow to the old snow surface is improving with field tests giving resistant results. The Nov 13 crust down 1-1.5m gives hard range deep tap test results.
Avalanche Summary
The most recent reported or observed avalanche activity is two days old. A skier triggered size 1.5 windslab on the SW aspect of Mt Cheops at 2300m. Pockets of windslab may still be reactive to human triggering especially in steeper terrain.
Confidence
The weather pattern is stable
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.