Keep an eye on solar aspects as day-time heating and radiation increase the hazard. Travel conditions are fast with minimal ski penetration except in shallow snowpack areas at lower elevations.
Confidence
High - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain
Weather Forecast
Sunday will bring a mix of sun and cloud with no precipitation. Alpine temperature will reach a high of -4 °C, with winds out of the SW at 20km/h. Freezing levels will be at valley bottom. Monday may see a very small amount of snow fall, under cloudy skies.
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new today, but a skier accidentally triggered a size 2.0 wind slab avalanche a couple of days ago in steep Alpine terrain.
Snowpack Summary
Surface hoar growth in sheltered areas below treeline up to 20mm in size. The snowpack continues to facet due to persistent cold temperatures. Steep solar aspects have a thin sun crust that is melting later in the day as radiation and temperatures increase. Wind slabs are found in Alpine areas on all aspects, and some natural and human triggered avalanches have occurred in the past several days.
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.
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.