The cold weather may be the biggest hazard for those that head into the backcountry these next few days. Dress warmly and watch for frostbite.
Weather Forecast
Arctic ridge of high pressure maintaining its stranglehold over the Province for the next few days giving cold temperatures and dry conditions. A weak upper trough will increase cloudiness tonight with trace amounts of snow. Moderate winds will be from North and East directions.
Snowpack Summary
5-10cm of soft snow overlies hard snow surfaces of sun crust on steep solar aspects and wind slab at higher elevations. This new snow has seen some wind affect and has bonded poorly to the layers beneath. A new surface hoar layer is down 5cm at lower elevations. The mid pack is well settled but cold weather has begun facetting the snowpack.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed yesterday.
Problems
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.