Yesterday's storm lacked the punch we expected. Lots of very appealing ski lines out there right now, but keep the terrain in check despite the high motivation. There's still potential for big avalanches.
Weather Forecast
Not a lot of change coming our way. The temps will continue to fall, settling at -20 as the forecast high in the alpine tomorrow. Flurries with light winds and cloudy skies for tomorrow. Early next week will see clear skies. No snow for the next while, and, light winds...that's good news!
Avalanche Summary
The past 24hr cycle mentioned yesterday was still evident today. A number of avalanches were noted at upper treeline elevations originating from crossloaded features. Most were size 2's.
Snowpack Summary
Light amounts from last nights front had little overall impact in the snowpack. The storm snow from last week has settled a considerable amount at treeline and alpine elevations. The weak Feb 11 layer is still very evident as a sliding surface at all elevations. Moderate winds have made the surface windslabs a touch stiffer, however no failures on this interface were noted today. There was a better overall feel to the storm snow and Feb 11 interface, however whumphing was still noted on a number of occasions today.
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.
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.