Be cautious of sluffing or thin wind slabs on steep Southerly terrain and cooler temps with wind exposure on Northerly aspects.
Weather Forecast
Sunny with periods of cloud for the day with 10-35km/hr Northerly winds. There is a slight temperature inversion with slightly warmer temperatures in the Alpine where the forecasted high will reach -6... in the sun... where there is no wind...Cold temperatures, light winds and clear skies for Friday-Sunday.
Snowpack Summary
10-15cm of settled, faceted snow resides on old wind slabs in the alpine. Northerly winds have deposited thin wind slabs on SE-SW aspects at ridge-top. A crust on steep solar aspects makes for difficult traveling conditions, both uphill and down. The mid and lower snowpack is well settled and strong. Surface faceting is softening old ski tracks.
Avalanche Summary
Several dry loose point releases were noted from South facing alpine ridge-lines yesterday. All were smaller than size one, but had enough mass that they could knock you off your feet if you were in a steep couloir. In the highway corridor, two sz 1.5 dry loose avalanches were noted from MacDonald Gully 4 and 7.
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.