We are expecting a slight cooling trend that will tighten up the snowpack over the next few days. Good snow can still be found on north aspects.
Weather Forecast
A few flurries overnight with increasing winds. Tomorrow is expected to be cloudy with a few sunny breaks during the day. Expect strong solar effect due to the thin could. The high temp will be -7, but it will feel much warmer. The ridge winds will rise to 55km/hr from the west. Freezing level will be 1800m.
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new was noted today.
Snowpack Summary
Another 5-10 cm last night and this morning. By mid morning it was already moist below treeline, and by mid day it was moist up to 2200m on all aspects. The underlying crusts are evident on all aspects up to 2100m. By 2200m they are more prevalent on solar aspects. In terms of thickness, below treeline has a 30-40cm crust and the treeline crust is 5-15cm depending on aspect. The weak basal layers are still found with probing and are as widespread as always. The heat really hasn't had much affect in the alpine in terms of stabilizing the mid to lower layers.
Problems
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.