One more day of heat in the alpine. Danger will increase with direct sun on the slopes and daytime warming.
Weather Forecast
Sunny and warm in the alpine, while cool temp's remain trapped in the valley bottom. Alpine high of +1*C with light variable winds. More clouds move in tomorrow and the warm air should get pushed out, with freezing levels reaching 1400m and much less solar radiation. Thurs/Fri brings isolated flurries, alpine temp's of -6*C, light winds.
Snowpack Summary
A temperature inversion has promoted slab formation at tree-line and alpine elevations, as well as helped create a surface crust, especially on steep solar aspects. Isolated wind slabs exist in the alpine in exposed areas and near ridge lines on all aspects. The Jan 2 freezing rain crust is down ~90cm. The Nov 21st interface is now 1-2m in deep.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were observed nor reported Monday. Frequent Flyer left debris across the skin-track up Connaught Creek on Sunday during a sun-induced natural avalanche cycle, while numerous slab and loose avalanches to size 3 were observed on Sunday in the highway corridor.
Problems
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.
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.