Even with three times Low take the time to ski your line one at a time, avoid exposure to cornices, terrain traps and other hazards. Be over prepared for cold today.
Weather Forecast
Arctic air has pushed back in again. Sunny with a cold -19C for an alpine high along with light to moderate easterly winds. Sunny with cloudy periods for Sunday with alpine high of -16C and similar forecast for Monday.
Snowpack Summary
15cm of settled, faceted snow resides on old wind slabs in sheltered areas. Moderate to strong winds have deposited thin wind slabs on exposed terrain features at ridge-top and exposed areas BTL. A crust on steep solar aspects makes for difficult traveling conditions, both uphill and down. The mid and lower snowpack is well settled and strong.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed in the highway corridor. Three skier triggered size 1 avalanches occurred Wednesday all reported on the MIN. All three involved small lenses of hard surface wind slab on steep features.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations
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.