One day it will snow again! In the meantime, another chinook is pushing into the region. Warm temps and strong winds should be expected. Good skiing still being found in sheltered terrain, even in the Alpine!
Weather Forecast
A few additional cm of snow is expected to fall over the next 24hrs but accumulations are not forecast to be significant. With the latest chinook rolling through the forecast area winds and temperatures are both forecast to increase. Winds will be strong at upper elevations out of the SW and temperatures will be in the single digits below freezing.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were observed.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 25cm low density snow over the Jan 23rd interface. This new snow is burying the widespread windslabs that developed during the intense winds in mid january. The midpack is generally well settled and no major shears were observed. Observations were completed in the Aster Lake region.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.