Slow improvement in conditions. However, use caution on solar aspects where a windslab overlies the Mar 15 crust. Dig down to test the snow before committing to your line.
Weather Forecast
Unseasonably cold temperatures remain (below zero) in the Valley bottoms for a few days yet. Until Thursday the ridge temperature will stay in the -15 range. Cloud cover and light amounts of precip are expected to track through the region starting early Tuesday (~5cm). The wind will increase to the moderate range from the SW on Tues.
Snowpack Summary
Last weeks storm brought 15-40cm with moderate S and W winds creating wind slabs in the alpine and into exposed areas at treeline. The March 15 suncrust is down 25-50cm on south east through west aspects and has been sensitive to skier triggering over the last few days. The mid- pack land basal layers have been dormant for the past while.
Avalanche Summary
A skier remote size 1.5 was observed just outside the Lake Louise ski area boundary on an East aspect this afternoon. It appeared to be a windslab that ran on the Mar 15th crust.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations on Monday
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.
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.