The storm snow buried a surface hoar / crust layer, which is variable in its distribution, but found to be most sensitive to triggering at and below tree line. Enter new terrain, that does not show signs of previous avalanches, cautiously.
On Monday the sun could trigger point releases out of solar facing, steep rocky terrain, the 'first kiss of the sun' after the storm, which could entrain addition mass as it travels and trigger deeper instabilities.
~60cm of recent snow, moderate to strong SW winds and warm temps have formed storm slabs, which bury the Feb 15 surface hoar (2-8mm) and a crust on steep solar aspects. The slabs may be sensitive to human triggering.
Charge your heated sock batteries and plan to ski in the sun, it's gonna get cold!
Monday will see mainly sunny skies with periods of cloud, 15-25km/hr variable winds and an alpine high of -23, as the Arctic ridge of high pressure slides into our region bringing cold and clear conditions for the next few days. Gradually warming up by the weekend
40-60cm of storm snow over the last few days, with the higher amount being on the West side of the Park. Wind affected snow in the alpine and down into tree line. The Feb 15 surface hoar (2-8mm) is down 40-70cm and most prevalent below tree line. The Jan 29 surface hoar is down 70-120cm and breaking down.
Reports of skiers triggering the Storm Slab, tree line and below in steep terrain.
On Saturday, natural avalanche activity was observed up to size 3.0 and artillery controlled avalanche results up to size 3.5. The Feb 15 surface hoar layer was active during this cycle, pulling slabs at lower elevations.
