The Burstall area received 20cm last night in a localized storm. Winds have created some wind slab, but sheltered north aspects will still have good skiing. Watch the solar effect in the afternoon.
Weather Forecast
Thin cloud for tomorrow with temps hovering around zero in valley bottom. The thin cloud will limit some solar radiation, but expect a fair bit to sneak through. Alpine winds will pick up a bit, but still stay within the strong range (up to 60km/hr), and mostly come out of the NW. Valley bottom winds will be light from the west. No snow expected.
Avalanche Summary
Temperatures remained cool today. The only activity noted was pin wheeling on steep south faces.
Snowpack Summary
Areas near Burstall Pass received up to 20cm of storm snow last night. The winds associated with the storm have blown the new snow around at treeline and above. Its expected that there are new windslabs at upper elevations. At valley bottom, the sun and warm temps have already broken the new snow down and formed a dense layer that will freeze overnight to make a new crust. Below the new snow yesterday's warm temps have left a temperature crust up to 2400m on all aspects. Areas further north have had little change in the snowpack since yesterday. The overnight temperatures allowed the surface snow to refreeze and recover some of its strength. The trouble layers are still out there and are reactive when the temps warm up. The Feb 10 is down 110-130cm's on the Spray Road, and down 40-80cm's in the front ranges.
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.
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.