Good skiing in sheltered areas today with easy travel conditions! Cornice hazard and wind slabs remain the main avalanche concerns over the next few days.
Weather Forecast
The ridge of high pressure will break down over the next several days as a more zonal Westerly flow becomes established. Temperatures remain moderate and seasonal. Winds will stay in the moderate to strong range especially over Eastern areas of the park. Some light precipitation may be possible on Sunday.
Snowpack Summary
Some surface hoar growth over the last two days at all elevations. Light sun crust on steep S aspects. Moderate W winds creating hard and soft wind slabs in open areas at tree line and in the alpine. Below this the snowpack is generally well settled with no major shears. Still some concerns for weak basal facets in shallow snowpack areas.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanche activity over the past two days. We did see several avalanches up to size 3 out of steep wind loaded alpine terrain a few days ago. These appeared to be cornice triggered and failing on deeper buried facet layers. This remains a concern especially in areas where the snowpack depth varies substantially.
Confidence
Wind effect is extremely variable
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.