The cold will stick around through to the end of the week.
Confidence
High - The weather pattern is stable
Weather Forecast
Thursday: Sunny with cloudy periods / Light northeast wind / Alpine temperature -11Friday: Sunny with cloudy periods / Light northeast wind / Alpine temperature -19 Saturday: Cloudy with isolated flurries / Light to moderate west wind / Alpine temperature of -15
Avalanche Summary
Recent avalanche activity is limited to isolated thin windslab releases to size 1 in the alpine.
Snowpack Summary
Recent low density storm snow has been facetting due to the cold temperatures. Variable wind effect has created wind slabs in the alpine. Watch for a recently buried layer of surface hoar down 30-40cm that may develop a poor bonding layer. The depth of the mid-november crust is also variable across the region. Reports have the crust down between 100-200 cm and snowpack tests have produced a variety of results from moderate and sudden to hard and resistant, and in some cases no result. If you dig down to the crust, watch for facets developing above and/or below. This may provide a weak layer above a smooth sliding surface in the future.
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.