Invest some time when assessing the snowpack. We are seeing huge variability within treeline & alpine terrain. Even small changes in aspect, angle and surface conditions can make for a very different snowpack.
Confidence
High - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
Cloudy with sunny periods tomorrow. The cloud cover will be thin, so expect some sun to sneak through. Winds will be out of the west and reasonably calm. Ridge winds are expected to be 20-35km/hr. The freezing level is also expected to stay below valley bottom with an alpine high of -9.
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new seen today.
Snowpack Summary
Not much for new snow out there today. The southern areas had a few cm's of new snow to cover the low elevation crust from yesterday. There are now a series of crusts that extend up to 1900m on all aspects, and up to 2300m on solar aspects. The main crust of concern is the Feb 11th that is down 20-40cm (at treeline) and more prevalent on South aspects. The bond with this layer appears to be improving, but because of the complex snowpack it is hard to have any widespread confidence with it. Beneath that, the Jan 6th is the next concern. It is down 60-80cm at treeline and is slowly improving. Similar to the Feb 11th, this layer is a tricky one to trust. The general thought is it needs more time to build our trust.
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.