Touchy conditions are expected. If you have questions about the snowpack, conservative terrain selection is always the answer.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate - Wind effect is extremely variable
Weather Forecast
A dry ridge of high pressure is expected to develop for the forecast period. Expect increasingly clear skies and light ridge top winds. Alpine temperatures are expected to remain between -14 and -20.
Avalanche Summary
Due to inclement weather, observations were generally limited on Saturday, but a widespread storm slab cycle to size 2 was observed in the north of the region. Natural avalanche activity will likely taper-off with forecast clearing. However, human-triggered avalanches will remain a concern for the forecast period, especially at elevations or in parts of the region where recent storm accumulations have settled into a cohesive slab.
Snowpack Summary
Between 25cm and 40cm of new snow fell on Friday night and Saturday. Winds associated with the storm were highly variable. In areas (or at elevations) where the wind was strong, there may be a cohesive and reactive storm slab. In areas where the winds were light, you're more likely to find loose powder. The new snow overlies a touchy layer of sugary faceted snow and well-developed surface hoar which is reported to exist on all aspects and elevations. Due to the persistent nature of these underlying crystals, newly formed storm slabs may remain reactive for the foreseeable future. Adding to the mix of weaknesses in the upper snowpack are a few other surface hoar layers that developed throughout December and late November which you may now find buried in the top 100cm. The weight of the new snow (or a surface avalanche in motion) may cause these layers to "wake up" resulting in larger, more destructive avalanches.
jlammers,
Avalanche Canada
