Look for winds to pick up and increase slab development. A skier triggered Size 2 soft slab in the Tryst Chutes area on Wednesday AM resulted in some limb injuries to one skier - heads up out there as the weak basal layers cannot support much load.
Weather Forecast
Winds increasing and temps will gradually increase with -12 in the valley bottoms on Thursday rising to -6 by Friday PM
Avalanche Summary
Numerous loose and slab avalanches up to Size 3 were observed on Wednesday AM - most had occurred during the storm event,
Snowpack Summary
Tuesdays storm snow is slow to settle due to the cold temps. Winds were much calmer than forecast in the AM on Wednesday but wind values are forecast to steadily increase over the next 24-48 hours. Storm slabs will thicken and become more cohesive and subject to skier triggering.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.