We have a couple of interesting, and potentially dangerous layers in the snowpack. Read the snowpack discussion section to get a better picture of what is happening. Choose terrain wisely, and investigate the snowpack frequently as you travel.
Weather Forecast
Clear periods overnight with a few flurries. An alpine low of -18 with westerly winds at 25km/hr. Tomorrow will see more flurries and temps around -10 in the alpine. Winds will be light from the southwest.
Avalanche Summary
Several loosed dry avalanches were noted today. Up to sz1.5 and coming out of 45 plus terrain.
Snowpack Summary
The last 2 days have brought nearly 30cm of new snow. Luckily this new snow has come in with no wind and there is very little wind effect at any elevation. Beneath this new snow lies an interesting snowpack. Up to 2200m, there are 2 surface hoar layers: the Jan 6th(down 30cm) & the Dec 15(down 70cm). We are just starting to see results on these layers as the new snow load slowly builds up. As of today, the Jan 6th layer is lacking a surface slab, which is preventing it from being a slab avalanche concern. BUT, if/when there is a slab above it, expect this layer to be a very serious avalanche problem. Meanwhile, the Dec 15th is starting to fail in stability tests (CTM12, SC down 70cm). The difficulty with both of these layers is knowing where they are NOT in the terrain. In some areas we've seen the surface hoar up to 2300m and in in others only up to 2200...and to make it worse yet, in some areas we have seen bands of surface hoar that show up at random intervals. In the alpine, there is an intermittent windslab that feels as though it could sneak up on us and be a real surprise.
Problems
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.
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.