The snowpack is beginning to facet and become looser, and the snow sluffs easily on steep terrain. Be cautious around cornices and glide cracks.
Weather Forecast
A blocking ridge will dominate the weather pattern for the next few days. Not much precipitation is expected in the near future. Some warm temperatures may occur at higher elevations today.
Snowpack Summary
Surface snow is facetting with cold temps. Recent tests indicate that the interface down ~30cm between the new and old settled snow will fail with moderate force but is resistant to move. The Nov. crust is down 160cm collapses with a hard force in snowpack tests but has yet to produce avalanches. Snowpack depths are below average.
Avalanche Summary
Direct morning sun on easterly aspects caused a large chunk of cornice to fail on Cheops Mtn, triggering a size 2.5 slab on the 31st. Skiers reported sluffing of the top 20cm on steep slopes. A small slab was ski cut at Balu Pass on an East aspect yesterday down 10-15cm.
Problems
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.