Cold temps and light winds have preserved the excellent snow quality.Assess the snowpack before entering your line.Happy Holidays!
Weather Forecast
A strong ridge of high pressure is sitting over the region giving us clear sunny skies. The winds will be 5-20km/hr from the North, with an Alpine high of -18... bbrrr thats cold, bring an extra layer or two and stay in the sun! The ridge of high pressure looks like it will persist until mid week, with no snow in the forecast until Friday.
Snowpack Summary
Cold temps are promoting surface faceting. Below tree line the top 40cm of the snowpack is unconsolidated and sits on the Dec 15 surface hoar which is widespread and largest where sheltered. In the alpine, Dec 15 is a thin crust on solar aspects and small surface hoar on polar aspects. Pockets of wind slab exist in the alpine and at tree line.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed yesterday.Numerous natural avalanches from a few days ago up to sz 2.5 in steep terrain.
Confidence
The weather pattern is stable
Problems
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.
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.