Enjoy the snow twice as much - carve some turns and dig some pits to look for the Dec3 interface down 60cm.
Weather Forecast
Snowfall amounts are tapering off, but a series of scattered flurries is expected to bring an additional 10cm by Sunday evening. Temperatures remaining cool, with daytime highs near -5C. Freezing level to remain below 1500m. Winds light and variable through to the weekend.
Snowpack Summary
70 cm of snow in the past week is settling rapidly and appears to be bonding well. The main concern is where this snow sits on the Dec3 surface hoar, most likely between 1700-1900m on sheltered North aspects. A touchy 15cm windslab can be found in lee areas at treeline.
Avalanche Summary
The natural cycle of storm slab avalanches (some stepping down to ground) which occurred following the last big storm has subsided. The majority of the avalanche activity occurred in the alpine and treeline elevation bands. No avalanches have been observed or reported associated with the Dec3 surface hoar layer down 60cm in the Jasper region.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations
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.