New slabs formed at upper elevations are substantial and will take some time to settle over the previous crusts. Weak surface crusts breaking down with daytime heating make for difficult travel below treeline.
Weather Forecast
A weak ridge will form over the region by midday on Tuesday to bring some drier air and hopefully allow some cooling through Wednesday with only trace amounts of precip forecast. Thursday marks the beginning of an increasing trend in the freezing level through to the weekend. Winds will remain light to moderate out of the SW for the period.
Snowpack Summary
50cm of snow fell with strong SW winds on the Jan 31 crusts above 2000m with the last storm. Rain has created surface crusts below 2200m and the entire snowpack remains moist with warm temps allowing only poor recovery. The Dec 13 layer down about 1m average is still a concern in high shaded terrain where there are no strong crusts above it.
Avalanche Summary
There was a great deal of avalanche activity over the weekend. With the rapid loading and winds, storms slabs to sz 2.5 failed above the Jan 31 crusts treeline and above some as a result of cornice failures. Below treeline surface crusts broke down with the rain allowing loose wet activity and a few wet slabs failing on the Dec 13 crust layer,
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.
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.