Great riding conditions can be found but large human triggered avalanches remain possible, especially just below tree-line.
Weather Forecast
THURSDAY: no new snow is expected, mainly light to moderate south winds, remaining cool, -10C at 1500m. FRIDAY: Light snow fall, up to 10cm, moderate westerly winds, still cool. SATURDAY: light flurries, light southerly winds becoming westerly, cool.
Avalanche Summary
Avalanche activity appears to have tapered off since the weekend. Avalanche professionals in the field are reporting sluffing in steep terrain in response to skier traffic (aka good skiing). No new avalanches have been reported on the layer of buried surface hoar since last week, although this may be because people have been avoiding locations where it is likely to be found.
Snowpack Summary
It sounds like good riding conditions out there with mainly low density snow on the surface and very little wind effect in the alpine. About 30 to 80cm of snow now sits above a crust that extends up to 1800m. The early December persistent weak layer can now be found down 40-160cm. This layer can be found as an old sun crust on solar aspects in the alpine, or as large grained surface hoar and small facets in isolated pockets bellow tree-line. The surface hoar is mainly a concern between 1400m and 1800m although it may extend higher than this in the south of the region. Snow pit tests on this interface have been widely variable; producing a mixture of sudden and resistant failures or no results. The mid and lower portions of the snowpack are thought to be mainly well settled.
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.