Small, stubborn, isolated pockets of wind slab may continue to exist in high alpine terrain. At lower elevations, or in the direct sun you may encounter small, loose wet surface slides.
New snow from Sunday night only totaled about 3". But there were isolated pockets in the alpine where wind had loaded that snow 8" deep. These wind slabs were reactive on Monday. I expect them to shrink in size and become more stubborn on Tuesday. But I won't take them completely off my radar... as they could be a problem in challenging terrain.
On Monday I was shocked at the heat in the alpine. The Broken Top Caldera hit 48 deg at noon... and 38 deg on the summit ridge. Most steep slopes were covered in roller balls. The new snow was completely saturated and surface slides were abundant... but with only 3" of new snow, they were all very shallow and manageable. Temps will be lower on Tuesday and I expect the wet problem freeze up a bit and diminish. But keep an eye on that sun. If it pokes through it can help melt that surface and make more small loose surface slides. When there are wet problems, the old saying goes, "If you are sinking to your boot tops, its time to go home."
Its been about a week since our last big avalanche cycle on Feb 24. Since then, a melt freeze cycle, continued warm temps and very little new snow has all contributed to lower the hazard level. The faceted weak layer we have been keeping the closest eye on (near crust facets 70 cm down, just above the "Bad Bunny Crust") has continued to round and bond. Snowpack tests on this layer have improved. My focus will shift from this old burried week layer to new problems at the surface. Even with low hazard, I will keep an eye out for isolated pockets of wind slabs high in the alpine, or loose wet surface slides at the heat of the day.
