Lots going on out there right now. With conservative terrain choices, the skiing can be very good. Between the new snow and warm temperatures, the snowpack is going through a lot of change right now.
Confidence
Fair - Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain
Weather Forecast
Warm, windy and snowy. We're looking at another 10cm's by tomorrow evening with warm temperatures. The Spray Valley will see above zero, with the alpine hanging in there at -8. Valley bottom winds will stay light, but upper alpine features will see winds of up to 80km.
Avalanche Summary
One sz1 skier remote on a steep, unsupported roll near treeline and some small sluffs. Limited alpine visibility today.
Snowpack Summary
20cm's of new snow at treeline in the past 24hrs. This snow is coming fairly warm so it is settling out very quickly. There was some sluffing noted out of very steep terrain as well. This new snow is sitting on top of the older windslabs and of course the Feb 11th facet/surface hoar/crust combo, now down 70-80cm. Due to the random structure of this layer, its reactivity and bond is extremely variable. As an experiment we dug three pits within 100m of each other. We had results ranging from a hard compression test to an easy compression test. The real head scratcher came when we were all done. As we walked away, a near by slope remotely avalanched sz1. Needless to say, this layer is our main concern. There are some fresh storm slabs and wind slabs out there now, but so far they are staying put.
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.
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.