With a generally stable snowpack, caution is still needed. Be aware that small sluffs or thin wind slabs in confined gullies can knock a person off their feet and over cliffs.
Weather Forecast
Cold and clear. -16*C in the alpine, light to moderate northerly winds, and absolutely no chance of snow today. Cold and clear Tuesday and Wednesday, with similar conditions of light northerly winds, alpine highs in the minus mid-teens, and lots of sun.
Snowpack Summary
15cm of settled snow resides on old wind slabs in the alpine. In sheltered areas the recent snow is covering surface hoar and facets. A crust on steep solar aspects makes for difficult traveling conditions, both uphill and down. The mid and lower snowpack is well settled and strong. Surface faceting is softening old ski tracks.
Avalanche Summary
A size 1.5 skier triggered slab was observed in the Christmas Couloir on the SW side of Ursus Major yesterday. Several small dry point releases were also noted in this vicinity. No avalanches were observed in the highway corridor.
Confidence
Due to the number and quality of field observations
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.