A bit of new snow and some recycled powder beneath it is makes for nice sliding out there in the right places. Head's up for the new snow over the sun crust on steep, solar terrain features up high and assess thin wind slabs & cornices on the north.
Confidence
High - Due to the number and quality of field observations
Weather Forecast
Freezing levels will remain at valley bottom, no precipitation in the forecast for the foreseeable future and upper flow will remain NW. Sunny skies, cold and light winds in the alpine.
Avalanche Summary
Some loose dry and thin slab avalanche activity up to size 2.0 in the forecast region was observed on solar and polar aspects in the last 48 hours.
Snowpack Summary
Cold temperatures persist and continue to facet out the snowpack at all elevations and aspects. The new snow (10-12cm) from the 7th and 8th of January is sluffing easily over the January 7th facets/crust/surface layer on most aspects. Some down flow or catabatic wind effect was observed by a forecaster which produced some thin 6-10cm 1F windslab in the alpine. The midpack and base of the snowpack has rotted out completely in the lower elevations and areas where the snowpack is thin and/or wind affected terrain features such as rocks and moraines in the higher elevations.
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.
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.