Cold dry conditions continue. Watch for signs of instability as you travel, such as whumpfing, cracking, and recent avalanches.
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
SUNDAY NIGHT: Clear, light northeast wind, alpine temperatures drop to -22 C.MONDAY: Sunny, light northeast wind, alpine high temperatures near -13 C.TUESDAY: Sunny with cloudy periods, light northeast wind, alpine high temperatures near -10 C.WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries, light southeast wind with moderate gusts, alpine high temperatures near -10 C.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were reported on Sunday. On Saturday and Friday, a few small wind slab avalanches (size 1) were triggered by skiers and some small natural wind slabs were observed.
Snowpack Summary
10-20 cm of recent snow with moderate winds has likely formed wind slabs in exposed terrain. Older wind slabs will be buried under the new snow and may be difficult to detect. Cold temperatures have been transforming most of the snowpack into soft faceted snow. In thicker snowpack areas, you may find a slab sitting above a weak layer of facets and surface hoar that was buried in mid-January and is now 30-60 cm deep. This layer is most prominent in the Elk Valley between 1600 m and 1900 m. Snowpack tests and avalanche reports on this layer suggest that human triggering is still a lingering concern.
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.
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.