Allow the snowpack time to adjust to the recent snow load. Avoid overhead hazard or spending anytime in runout zones as large avalanches have been running into valley bottoms.
Weather Forecast
Winter is great, especially when it snows a lot! Today we can expect to see another 5-10cm of it, giving us poor visibility in the alpine. Temps will range from -5 to -10 with 20km/hr ridgetop winds from the southwest. The next weather system will arrive Tuesday evening and continue into Thursday with forecasted snowfall amounts over 50cm.
Snowpack Summary
25cm in 24hrs brings the weekly snowfall total to ~150cm creating a healthy sized storm slab. Previous moderate to strong south winds have created pockets of windslab in the alpine. A meter and a half of settling snow sits over the Jan 16th surface hoar layer, which is the uppermost PWL and is still distinct and easy to pick out on pit walls.
Avalanche Summary
Several avalanches reported yesterday from backcountry users, some of which buried regular skin track routes. Heavy snowfall and winds produced natural avalanches to size 3.0. Artillery avalanche control produced numerous avalanches, size 2.0-3.5, with several avalanches dusting the highway.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.