Wind slabs may be reactive to human triggering at upper elevations.
Weather Forecast
SATURDAY NIGHT - Cloudy with isolated flurries, 2-4 cm / southwest winds, 30-50 km/h / alpine low temperature near -7SUNDAY - Mainly cloudy with scattered flurries / southwest winds, 10-30 km/h / alpine high temperature near -5 / freezing level 1700 mMONDAY - A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries / southeast winds, 10-20 km/h / alpine high temperature near -3 / freezing level 1900 mTUESDAY - Mainly cloudy with scattered flurries, 5 cm / west winds, 10-20 km/h / alpine high temperature near -1 / freezing level 1900 m
Avalanche Summary
On Friday, there were reports of a few size 1 human triggered storm slab avalanches.On Thursday, there were reports of a few natural, human and explosives triggered storm slab avalanches up to size 1.5, as well as a few size 1 loose wet avalanches.On Tuesday, there was a report of one size 2 natural loose wet avalanche on a south aspect at 2400 m.
Snowpack Summary
15-30 cm of recent storm snow sits on a melt-freeze crust on all aspects except for north facing slopes above 2000 m, where it sits on dry snow and surface hoar (feathery crystals). Recent snowfall amounts taper quickly below treeline.Snow is disappearing rapidly at lower elevations.
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.