Now that we've dug ourselves out from that windy storm, sticking to well-supported, low-angled lines would be wise. Touchy cornices will be looming overhead like the mean ol' Grinch.
Weather Forecast
The storm has passed and the weather is settling today. We can still expect some flurries today, bringing gusty mod/strong ridge-top winds. Freezing levels will drop to the valley-bottom. Saturday and Sunday will see similar conditions, with light SW winds, alpine highs of -9*C, and isolated flurries between sunny breaks.
Snowpack Summary
50cm+ in past 72hrs, warm temp's, and strong winds have created reactive to touchy storm slabs. The Dec 9 surface hoar/facet/crust persistent weak layer is buried 90cm+ and is producing large whumphs and sudden planar results. The Nov 21 surface hoar/facet persistent weak layer is down ~140cm.
Avalanche Summary
A widespread natural avalanche cycle to sz 3-3.5 occurred last night with the strong/extreme SW winds. Artillery control during the day produced avalanches from sz 2 to 3.5 in the highway corridor.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.
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.