High quality skiing and riding in sheltered areas tree line and below. Expect to find pockets of wind slab as you venture higher into the alpine.
Weather Forecast
The last day of February will bring mainly cloudy skies, isolated snow flurries and periods of sun. Temps will range from -4 to -10 and winds will be 20-35km/h from the south. 5-10cm of snow forecasted for Friday with freezing levels rising to 1500m
Snowpack Summary
8cm of new snow overnight and ~40cm of storm snow now buries a facet layer, making for a weak bond. Recent moderate to strong southerly winds forming pockets of wind slab in the alpine and tree line areas. A crust is down 30-50cm on solar aspects and the mid January persistent weak layers are buried 150-200cm.
Avalanche Summary
Several regular performers produced natural avalanches up to size 2.0 yesterday along the highway corridor.No new avalanches observed or reported from the backcountry yesterday.
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.