It will take a few days for the recently formed storm and wind slabs to settle and bond.
Weather Forecast
WEDNESDAY: Mainly cloudy / Light to moderate west wind / Alpine temperature -1 / Freezing level 800 m. THURSDAY: Periods of snow or rain, accumulation 10-15cm / Light to moderate southwest wind / Alpine temperature 2 / Freezing level 1400 m. FRIDAY: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated wet flurries or rain showers / Light west wind / Alpine temperature 2 / Freezing level 1300m
Avalanche Summary
Ski cutting on the North Shore mountains on Monday morning produced widespread size 1 storm slab releases on all aspects within the recent storm snow. Reports from the northern part of the region around Squamish over the weekend indicate that a natural avalanche cycle occurred in steep and convex alpine terrain with last week's storm. Expect natural activity to start to subside as the new snow settles and bonds to the old snow below.
Snowpack Summary
The region has received 60-80cm of new snow since last Thursday. This new snow is generally bonded well to the old surface up to treeline elevations. Alpine areas around Squamish have likely received about 60-100 cm of storm snow and more wind. In these areas the storm snow is possibly sitting on a mixture of weak grains including a crust on solar aspects and potentially facets/surface hoar on polar aspects. Below the storm snow the snowpack is generally well settled and strong.
Problems
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.