Human triggerring of avalanches is still possible from thin snowpack locations, especially in wind affected areas. Ice climbers watch for pockets of hard windslabs between pitches.
Confidence
Moderate - Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Monday
Weather Forecast
Temperatures on Sunday are looking at around -7C, with light SW winds. Trace amounts of new snow are expected.
Avalanche Summary
No new slab avalanche activity was observed but there was a few small sz 1 loose dry avalanches out of steep unskiable terrain.
Snowpack Summary
Widespread wind affect in alpine areas and into open areas at treeline and below. Natural avalanche activity has began to subside but the snowpack is still within the range of being triggerred by a skier. Our main concerns continue to be thin windslabs in alpine areas that are overlying the 1218 facets down 30-50cm. This layer is easy to locate as its marked by a major density change in the snowpack. Lower in the snowpack is the 1112 crust. Not much natural avalanche activity has been observed on this layer but it is still within our minds. Thin snowpack areas will be the places werein you may be able to trigger this weakness.
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.