Fresh wind slabs are touchy in the Alpine and more snow and wind are on the way. Areas at treeline and above will see increased danger levels on Wednesday.
Recent winds and snowfall have created fresh, sensitive wind slabs in the Alpine and open areas at treeline. Some naturally triggered slab avalanches have occurred in the past 24 hours. This problem will continue to worsen if the forecasted snowfall amounts are true.
Thin areas are where this layer will be easiest to trigger. Be thinking about wide propagations as the snowpack above is more cohesive than before.
Visibility was somewhat limited, but 2 fresh naturally triggered size 1.5 wind slabs were observed in the Alpine on east aspects immediately below ridgeline in the Burstall Pass area today.
Up to 5cm of new snow fell in the past 24 hours, with lots of wind at upper elevations. Fresh wind slabs are found in the Alpine and open areas at Treeline. Forecasters observed cracking in their skin track today, but ski cutting produced minimal results. Having said that, 2 new naturally triggered wind slabs (size 1.5) were observed in the Alpine on east aspects. It seems that the Alpine has much more sensitive wind slabs, and these will continue to build over the next 24 hours. Snow profile at 2350m today reveals that the bottom 80cm of facets is actually gaining a bit of strength. While this is good, snowpack tests still indicate failures in the facets, and thinner/rockier start zones are still a major concern where the facets will be easier to trigger.
Wednesday will be overcast with light flurries and highs of -8C. Snowfall amounts are uncertain with models predicting anywhere from 8 to 15+cm over the next 24hrs. Winds will be strong from the SW.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
