Areas of most concern (obvious lee slopes) should be easy to identify on Saturday by anyone with Avalanche Skills Training. On Sunday, however, new snowfall will cover the Wind Slabs, making slope assessment tricky.
Weather Forecast
Saturday: Westerly winds, Strong in the Alpine. Increasing cloud. Sunday: Light upslope winds accompany 5-15cm of new snowfall trickling in from Saturday night through Monday. Monday: Light snowfall may taper off. Light winds.Treeline temperatures between -10 and -15 throughout. Forecasts disagree as to intensity of Saturdays' wind/Sundays snow.
Snowpack Summary
25cm of low-density surface snow lies evenly over all aspects and elevations. This recent snow lies on a Melt-freeze Crust Below Treeline, and on old Wind Slabs on North/East aspects in the Alpine. Winds on Saturday may move large quantities of snow from West facing slopes to North and East aspect lee slopes, building new Wind Slabs quickly.
Avalanche Summary
Numerous small Loose Dry avalanches were observed from steep terrain on Friday.
Confidence
Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain
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.
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.