Heavy trail breaking and great skiing today! The snowpack at treeline is now over 2m and tree wells are becoming a significant hazard. Below 1750m rocks and stumps are still lurking below the surface. Happy Holidays!
Weather Forecast
Continued cool temperatures are forecasted until Friday when the high pressure ridge starts to break down. Light winds out of the SE slowly moving back to the W by the end of the week and only light amounts of snow are forecast.
Snowpack Summary
Approx 80 cm of recent storm snow at tree line which is bonding well to previous surfaces and producing Mod to Hard resistant shears. Light wind effect near ridge crests forming isolated soft slabs. No other major concerns in the snowpack although several crusts exist low down in the snowpack and are faceting out in thin areas.
Avalanche Summary
Sluffing and soft slabs out of very steep terrain up to size 2 were observed in the last 24hrs due to the large amount of new snow recently. No new avalanches were observed today.
Confidence
Wind speed and direction is uncertain
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.
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.