Avoid shallow areas on lee aspects in the alpine, where a small windslab avalanche could step down to the basal facets
Weather Forecast
Sunny skies and light winds from the West will continue on Monday. Light snow flurries are expected on Tuesday but will not amount to much snow. We are moving towards spring like conditions with colder overnight temperatures and mid day temperatures rising above 0.
Snowpack Summary
Colder daytime temperatures have locked in the snowpack today. The Feb 13th rain crust lies underneath a melt-freeze crust up to 2000m elevation. The melt-freeze crust goes up to 2200m. A mixture of rounded and facetted layers are sandwiched between these upper layers and the weak depth hoar/ facets prevalent in the lower snowpack down to ground.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were observed or reported today.
Confidence
Timing of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Tuesday
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.
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.