Weather Forecast
Synopsis: A frontal system is moving across the area bringing generally light snowfall Monday night and into Tuesday. On Wednesday and Thursday, a ridge of high pressure dominates the region.Tuesday: Around 5 cm new snow, with SW winds gusting to 40km/h at ridgetop. Freezing level around 800m.Wednesday: Lingering flurries in the morning, then clearing. Freezing level around 600m. Moderate NW winds in the morning, diminishing through the day.Thursday: Dry and sunny. Freezing level 800m in the afternoon. Light NW winds.
Avalanche Summary
Cornice releases in the alpine and a glide crack release at low elevation (all size 2) were reported over the weekend in response to warm temperatures. Loose wet avalanches were also reported on steep solar aspects.
Snowpack Summary
Recent warm weather has left crusty surfaces in many areas, except for north facing slopes at higher elevations. Buried surfaces of concern from the previous storm (the Feb. 3 interface) comprise mostly sun crusts, but in isolated locations, this interface comprises small surface hoar crystals. Down approximately 50-70 cm sits another persistent interface comprising of crusts, facets and surface hoar crystals. This layer is now mostly unreactive, with only one size 2 avalanche reported (on Feb 6th) since the end of January. If it were to be triggered again, the most likely spot would be a steep convex roll on a sheltered north aspect slope around treeline. A recent Rutchblock test gave a score of 6 with a partial block release in the Duffey Lake area. The mid and lower snowpack pack layers are generally well settled.
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.