Sunburn on the cheeks and frost bite on the nose. Brutal, light north winds making travel, unpleasant. Generally safe avalanche conditions but keep a healthy sense of uncertainty when stepping out into challenging and complex terrain.
The upper snowpack remains faceted on all aspects. Wind effect in open terrain from previous SW and now N winds. Much of the mid-pack is faceted with some strength and support on skis but not always under foot. Isolated sensitivity to Jan 18th layer at treeline and below, but not consistent to all areas. Large depth hoar on the ground, everywhere.
Avalanche Summary
Field team in the Maligne on Friday in the Bald Hills conducted field tests at 2200m in a open forested area. Profile available on Canadian Avalanche Association's, Mountain Information Network. No new recent avalanche activity observed or reported in the bulletin region.
Confidence
The weather pattern is stable
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.
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.