Things will start to get touchy as the new snow arrives with strong W winds. Minimize overhead hazard and avoid steep confined terrain until things have a chance to settle. Sheltered areas at lower elevations may provide the best skiing.
Weather Forecast
Temperatures will remain below freezing on Tuesday as 15 to 25 cm of new snow arrives with moderate to strong west winds. Precipitation will drop off on Wednesday but expect the winds to remain in the moderate to strong range for the next few days.
Snowpack Summary
Moderate to strong SW winds are creating wind slabs in alpine and treeline areas and beginning to over load cornices. 10-25 cm of recent snow sits over a melt freeze crust on solar aspects with some facets at the crust interface. So far the lower snowpack has few concerns except for basal facets in shallow areas.
Avalanche Summary
No observations in the Little Yoho area, but three size 2-2.5 natural cornice triggered avalanches were observed today with crowns ranging from 20 to 120 cm deep. Two were observed on Helen Ridge and one was seen on Jimmy Junior near Mt Jimmy Simpson. Some whumphing on the buried crust from March 15 was also experienced in the Cirque Peak area.
Confidence
Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain on Tuesday
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.