Tomorrow will be a great day for longer, higher elevation trips. Clear skies and slightly warmer temps are expected. Today the sun had a noticeable impact on the temperature.
Weather Forecast
Temperatures will creep up over the next few days. Tomorrow is expected to be another bluebird day on the Spray Road. Light winds at all elevations to go with the sun. By Monday night a weak system is expected to arrive giving 11cm's. Winds will spike as the storm approaches. Very strong winds are expected at ridge top.
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new to talk about here.
Snowpack Summary
No snow now for almost a week. Below treeline the snowpack has lost considerable strength. In tight trees there is no structure and in more open areas, the midpack can support a skier...barely. Treeline is mostly supportive due to the hard slab that is present in any open terrain. In open areas exposed to wind, the hardslab is still quite stiff and ski penetration is nil. The density of this slab has not changed despite the extended cold. Fortunately the bridging of the midpack is still strong enough to keep the concern over the basal facets minimal. In the alpine the dusting we received awhile ago is still untouched by the wind. Lots of shallow dust on hard slab skiing to be had. The sun crust is still intact on S and SW aspects.
Problems
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.