As this past week's storm snow continues to settle it will still be important to evaluate the bond between the old snow surface and the new snow. There is still potential for a week sliding layer in isolated sheltered areas.
Confidence
High - The weather pattern is stable
Weather Forecast
Thursday: Flurries, accumulation 5-10cm / Moderate south wind / Alpine temperature 1 Friday: Mainly cloudy / Light northeast wind / Alpine temperature -1Saturday: Sunny with cloudy periods/ Light north wind / Alpine temperature -4
Avalanche Summary
There are no new recent reports of avalanche activity, however I would suspect there to be still some potential for skier and rider triggering with the some additional new snow, strong winds at upper elevations and a possible weak bond at the storm/old snow interface in isolated areas.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 70cm moist or wet new snow overlies the variable old snow surface from late last week, which includes well settled snow on southerly aspects, loose snow on shaded aspects, isolated pockets of surface hoar, and sun crusts on steep southerly aspects. With the potential for buried surface hoar means storm snow weaknesses from this latest snowfall will take longer than normal to stabilize. An old rain crust is reported to be down 170 cm in the North Shore mountains. This layer is strengthening in snowpack tests and is likely difficult to trigger in most places now.
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.