More cold starts this week, but atleast the ski quality is still good in sheltered treeline areas.
Weather Forecast
Another cold night coming our way. We will be in the -30 ballpark by early morning. No wind is forecasted, atleast the windchill won't make it worse. And of course, no snow when its this cold. There is a warm light at the end of the tunnel. Wednesday's high is -5.
Avalanche Summary
Two sz2 slabs were noted in the Goat Range today. Above 2400m, and east aspects.
Snowpack Summary
More cold weather...needless to say the snow pack as a whole is faceting as we speak and becoming weaker. This may not be all bad. The alpine still looks loaded with recent avalanches being up to a meter deep within the wind slabs. Treeline windslabs are starting to weaken which will decrease their "touchiness". How fast that happens depends on the density of the slab. At the moment there are still pockets of harder slabs in wind prone areas. No wind transport today. Below treeline is occasionally supportive where there's been wind and traffic, but in low elevation trees expect to wallow or walk on the ground...or both.
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.
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.