Don't let your guard down with the sunny weather and fresh snow. Take a cautious approach towards more aggressive terrain - especially steep, wind-affected terrain.
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
We're into a period of fine weather for the foreseeable future. Monday: Cloudy with sunny periods. Freezing levels around 700 m. Light northwesterly winds.Tuesday: Mainly sunny and becoming warm up high. Freezing levels rising to 1500 m. Light northerly winds.Wednesday: Sunny. Light northerly winds. Freezing levels 2000m. Alpine high temperatures to +1 Celsius.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed.
Snowpack Summary
Approximately 40-60 cm of snow from late last week now sits on top of a rain crust (or multiple crusts) that formed during the wet weather at the end of November. Strong (southerly) winds have blown snow around in exposed areas creating drifts and scoured areas. The main areas of concern are lee (northerly) and cross-loaded features in the alpine and tree line elevation bands. Snowpack depths are typically around 150 cm in sheltered tree line locations, although deeper (and shallower) spots certainly exist on account of the strong winds.
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.