Look for stashes of fresh snow in low angled sheltered glades below tall timbered.
Weather Forecast
A weakening moist westerly flow will be replaced by an easterly arctic front overnight. During the next 36 hours winds will continue to decrease and shift to the north as temperatures fall; the arctic air returns. No significant snowfall is forecast and perhaps some sun for the weekend.
Snowpack Summary
10 cm of fresh snow may be found in low angle sheltered slopes. Wind slabs in lee areas and cross loaded gullies continue to grow as do the cornices overhead. Weak layers include; buried surface hoar (Dec 11) in sheltered NE aspects around treeline (2100-2300m) and the Nov 12 crust buried in places 1m below the surface and 20cm from the ground.
Avalanche Summary
No new reports or observations in the past 24 hours. The wind loading over the past 4 days has developed reactive slabs. Once triggered these may propagate widely and step down to the November rain crust producing larger fast running slab avalanches.
Confidence
Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Friday
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.
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.