Skiing has improved with the slowly cooling temp's. However, watch for wind slab in unsupported lee features.
Weather Forecast
5-10cm of snow are forecasted for Rogers Pass today, with light to mod SW winds and freezing levels rising to 1700m. Tonight and tomorrow will see a slight drying trend, with scattered flurries, light SW winds, and freezing levels around 1200m. Saturday night/Sunday will see 10-15cm of snow, mod SW winds, and cooler temp's..
Snowpack Summary
Soft wind slabs are prevalent on most aspects in the alpine and tree-line, with some protected areas spared from the wind. Below these slabs, a crust exists on solar aspects from the warmth earlier in the week. The Jan 4th persistent weak layer is down 90-130 and was producing sporadic sudden planar results in deep-tap tests.
Avalanche Summary
Numerous slabs from size 1.5 to 2.5 were observed in the highway corridor yesterday, the majority coming off of Mt Macdonald's steep, N-facing alpine start zones. No new activity was noted by a field team in the Connaught Creek area, though, but there was evidence of avalanches from Tuesday during the warm-up.
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.