Watch for signs of rapid warming and intense solar radiation. Under these conditions the avalanche danger will increase.
Weather Forecast
Light SW winds, flurries with up to 10cm of localized deposits. The freezing level will be close to 1,700 m with limited solar radiation. Overnight lows will be down to -6
Snowpack Summary
45cm of storm snow continues to settle and has received minimal wind affect. A temperature crust can be found on most lower elevation slopes and a sun crust on southerly facing slopes into the alpine. At elevation and if buried by blown snow this will present some avalanche danger. At lower elevation, when intact, is provides stability & support.
Avalanche Summary
Skier accidental sz 2.5 reported from the Shangri-La area earlier in the week, triggered remotely from a shallow spot and stepped down to ground. Avalanche control work in the Columbia Icefield area on monday produced size 2 storm slabs & isolated larger avalanches up to size 3 that failed on ground.
Confidence
Freezing levels are uncertain on Saturday
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.
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.