No snow and high winds are making the alpine elevations less and less appealing for skiing or climbing. Good snow can be found in sheltered treeline areas.
Weather Forecast
Overnight low of -19C with moderate west winds. Tomorrow will be another windy day with gusts reaching 55km/hr. No snow is expected. Temps will rise to -14C in the alpine.
Avalanche Summary
Nothing on the Spray, but the shallow front ranges and Bow Valley now have depth hoar and facet avalanches running in very steep terrain.
Snowpack Summary
Not much has changed in the last day. The winds continue to have their way with the alpine snowpack. But unless the winds shift, no more damage can be done since all available snow has been blown away. Treeline is still a mixed bag of decent soft snow and old wind slabs that are faceting(weakening) out with the cold. Below treeline remains the same. None of the persistent layers have become reactive in the last 24 hours. For the most part, these layers are down about a meter and are within a 10-15cm range of each other. For simplicity, we are collectively calling these 3 layers a deep persistent slab problem. Cornices have grown considerably, but at this point they're hanging in there with no failures noted.
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.