Prolonged solar input will weaken surface crusts early, plan to finish your trip by early afternoon. Expect challenging skiing below treeline. Watch for windslabs on northerly aspects.
Weather Forecast
Today's forecast calls for cloudy with sunny periods and a trace of precipitation. Alpine high of -1C, a freezing level of 2000m and ridgeline winds light SE. Similar weather in the forecast through to Wednesday.
Snowpack Summary
Pockets of wind slabs at tree line and alpine elevations. The 15cm of recent snow buries a melt freeze crust on all aspects to tree line. Below the crust, the top 50cm is becoming moist during the day, isothermal in thin snowpack areas BTL. Elsewhere the lower snowpack is strong where over 2m.
Avalanche Summary
Cheops 1 slide path produced a size 3 slab initiated by a point release resulting in a long fracture line slab release. No other slides were observed or reported however visibility was not favorable Sunday.
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.
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.