Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Regions
Glacier.
Touchy windslabs exist in unexpected areas. Be extra wary on windloaded Southerly aspects, especially if the sun comes out. Over the weekend, as temperatures moderate, deeper instabilities may become more reactive.
Weather Forecast
A weak system will bring flurries today and slightly milder temps, with alpine temps ranging from -16'C to -13'C, and light SW winds. Friday will be similar but we should see a bit of sun with flurries. Over the weekend expect a mix of sun and cloud with alpine highs of -10'C and generally light SE winds.
Snowpack Summary
Earlier this week, strong N'ly winds hammered exposed slopes at treeline and above. Widespread windslabs exist in most of the alpine. At treeline and below the Dec 26 surface hoar layer is down 20-50cm and field teams have reported that it is becoming reactive. The Dec 18 facet layer is down 80cm and the Nov 13 crust is down 1.5 - 2 metres.
Avalanche Summary
Yesterday skiers accidentally triggered a size 1.5 windslab on a SW aspect at 2350m (see their MIN for details). In the region there were several similar reports of triggerable windslabs up to 50cm deep. There have been no natural avalanches observed in the park for a few days. In addition there have been reports of cornices failing.
Confidence
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.