Heading into a stable weather pattern for the holiday weekend
Confidence
High - The weather pattern is stable
Weather Forecast
Friday: Mainly cloudy / Light west wind / Alpine temperature -2Saturday: Sunny with cloudy periods/ Light north wind / Alpine temperature -4Sunday: Mix of sun and cloud / Light northeast wind / Alpine temperature -7
Avalanche Summary
There are no new recent reports of avalanche activity.
Snowpack Summary
A 2-3cm rain crust is now buried by 5-10cm of new snow in the alpine and at tree line. This all overlies well settled storm snow from last week's series of storms that seems to have a good bond to the layers below. An old rain crust is reported to be down 150-180cm in the North Shore mountains. This layer has strengthened in snowpack tests and is unlikely to trigger in most places now.
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.