The new snow will require several days to stabilize, a cautious approach to avalanche terrain is recommended.
Weather Forecast
A westerly flow continues and a much weaker front will track through bringing light precip and rising freezing levels for Thur and Fri. Wednesday: A mix of sun and cloud. Alpine low -12C, High -10 C. Ridge wind light west.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 15cm of new snow came in with strong to extreme SW winds. Previous old surfaces were; loose facets in sheltered terrain; wind affected in exposed areas; and, sun crust to treeline on solar aspects. The mid/lower snowpack is relatively strong for the region in deeper snowpack areas, and weak and facetted in shallow snowpack areas.
Avalanche Summary
A group of skiers triggered a large windslab avalanche in the backcountry near Marmot Basin Tuesday.A widespread cycle of small-large loose dry avalanches occurred Monday night during the snow and wind storm - these started small, but scrubbed down in to the facets.Several large windslab avalanches on alpine NE aspects also ran during the storm.
Problems
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.
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.