High winds and new snow have built wind slab, continue to choose conservative lines to ride and be aware of what lurks overhead while climbing in confined gullies.
Weather Forecast
5cm of snow arriving tonight for the Icefields Parkway with freezing levels around 1300m. Alpine high of -6 tomorrow with flurries and SW winds, 20km/hr gusting to 50km/hr. Another pulse arriving Thursday bringing 5-10cm, high winds and freezing levels to 2000m.
Snowpack Summary
5-10cm of snow in past 72 hours being distributed by mod-strong SW winds. New wind slab forming in areas where snow available for transport. Solar aspects have a breakable crust 10cm thick. Mid-pack consists of buried wind and persistent slab, which lay on a bed of basal facets. Decomposing surface hoar found ~40cm down but distribution is spotty.
Avalanche Summary
No new natural avalanches observed. Recent cooler temps have refrozen solar aspects and 'tightened' up the snowpack in the wake of last weeks high freezing levels and widespread natural avalanche cycle.
Confidence
Due to the number and quality of field observations
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.
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.