A gradual return to winter weather starts with cooler temperatures and then some modest snowfall by the weekend. Watch for wind affected slopes in the alpine.
Weather Forecast
TUESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear skies, light wind, alpine temperatures drop to -10 C.WEDNESDAY: Increasing cloud cover, light south wind, alpine high temperatures around -5 C.THURSDAY: Light snowfall, roughly 5 cm, light southeast wind, alpine high temperatures around -5 C. FRIDAY: Another 5 cm of snow, light southwest wind, alpine high temperatures around -3 C.
Avalanche Summary
The warm up produced only limited amounts of avalanche activity, mostly small loose snow avalanches on sunny slopes. On Monday, a few small wind slabs and cornices were triggered in the alpine by skiers (mostly on north and east aspects).
Snowpack Summary
Recent warm and sunny weather at higher elevation has resulted in moist snow during the day on sunny aspects, freezing into a crust overnight. The snow has remained dry on north aspects slopes. Wind slabs are now old and hard to trigger. Cornices exist but are not unduly large.The middle and lower portions of the snowpack are generally well-settled and strong. On southerly aspects you may find a thin sun crust with facets down around 55 cm. Recent sudden snowpack results on this layer indicate this could still be a failure plane on steep southerly slopes in thin snowpack areas. Professionals are also tracking a layer around 130 to 180 cm deep, composed of sugary faceted grains, feathery surface hoar, and a sun crust. The chance of triggering this layer is very low. In shallow snowpack areas, the base of the snowpack may also still be composed of weak faceted grains.
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.