Good skiing can be found in sheltered areas. Wind slabs cover the alpine.
Weather Forecast
Tonight will be clear, with temps dipping to -17c and moderate ridge top winds. Tomorrow the forecast indicates a mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. Winds will be 40-55km/h from the west and a high of -16c in the alpine.
Avalanche Summary
One large and long audible sound (probably an avalanche) was heard in the Mt. Murray/Murray Creek area. The weather was not conducive to get a visual on anything.
Snowpack Summary
Below treeline has really felt the cold. Any area that was loose snow prior to the cold is now weak and facetted. This isn't a bad thing, many windslabs have lost their cohesiveness thanks to that cold snap. At treeline the wind slabs are immediately noticeable once exposed terrain is reached. For the most part these slabs are thin and sometimes breakable. Steep, unsupported terrain may have reactive windslabs lurking, but for the most part the slabs are well bonded to underlying layers. The alpine has windslabs that are widespread and either breakable or eerily hollow under foot. These feel as though they could be triggered from shallow, transitional areas.
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.
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.