Tuesday should be a cooler day, but it is difficult to say how much the snowpack will re-freeze and stabilize. Keep a close eye on temperatures and solar radiation. Also, be mindful of touchy wind slabs at higher elevations. Ski quality is poor.
Confidence
Fair - Freezing levels are uncertain
Weather Forecast
Tuesday will be a cooler day with Alpine temperatures near -3 celsius and freezing levels at 1800m. Winds will be strong out of the west and no precipitation is expected. Wednesday will see a further cooling trend and the winds will shift to the NW.
Avalanche Summary
Several solar and/or heat induced loose wet avalanches were observed today up to size 2.0. These occurred on all aspects except true North.
Snowpack Summary
The snowpack is settling as temperatures remained above freezing at Treeline elevations overnight. The snowpack is isothermal at lower elevations and in shallow snowpack regions, and is not supportive to travel. Wind slabs are prevalent in the Alpine and upper Treeline elevations due to previous extreme SW to W winds.
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.
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.