Avalanche hazard has increased from the past few days due to sustained north and easterly winds.
Weather Forecast
Arctic high pressure in full effect over British Columbia bringing a day time high today of -20 with beautiful clear skies. Northerly winds are forecast to ease to 20km/h. This ridge has no intention of moving for the near future. Temperatures will warm up slightly on Thursday and into the weekend.
Snowpack Summary
5-10cm of soft snow overlies hard snow surfaces of sun crust on steep solar aspects and wind slab at higher elevations. This new snow has seen some wind affect and has bonded poorly to the layers beneath. A new surface hoar layer is down 5cm at lower elevations. The mid pack is well settled but cold weather has begun faceting the snowpack.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed 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.