Monday will hopefully bring some new snow to freshen up the skiing. Until then we'll see little change with the backcountry conditions. Ice climbing, cross country skiing or snowshoeing seem like the way to go for tomorrow.
Weather Forecast
Snow is on the way! Right now it is forecast to arrive overnight on Sunday. Amounts seem to vary, but almost 30cm by Monday afternoon is the current estimate. Until then we're in a holding pattern. Alpine temps will hover around -10, winds moderate out of the NW at ridgetop and the odd flurry passing through.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed today
Snowpack Summary
Not a huge amount of change out there. Settlement is ongoing for the entire area right now. The HS sits at 46cm for Burstall parking. The surface hoar that has been making the news lately took a hit with the warm temps. However its still intact, and seems to be more prominent at BTL and TL elevations. It is suspected to be in sheltered areas in the ALP as well. Little to no change with the Oct. crust.
Problems
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.