Our trademark winds still haven't shown up. The wind's arrival will determine the avalanche hazard in either direction. Be aware of changing conditions, and watch for wind transported snow.
Confidence
Fair - Wind effect is extremely variable
Weather Forecast
Light snow is expected overnight. Amounts do not appear to be significant, only 5cm of low density convective snow. Tomorrow's skies will be thin overcast, so we can expect there to be quite a bit of solar radiation. The temperatures will stay cool at -8 in the alpine. The winds will make an appearance tonight and rise to moderate levels. Our forecast shows 50km/r at 3000m as of tomorrow morning.
Avalanche Summary
Lots of sluffing out of very steep terrain in the alpine. For the most part, these did not run very far, or gain much mass. There was some limited avalanche activity on the windslab interface in the alpine. A few avalanches were noted on East aspects out of thin snowpack areas. A large size 2 was the biggest.
Snowpack Summary
Flurries throughout the day added to the new snow from the week. The totals now add up to 50cm's at treeline. We are still waiting for the winds to redistribute it. In the meantime the surface snow is still free of windslabs. There was some sluffing within the new snow, however this was limited to very steep terrain in the alpine. The crusts from a couple of days ago are now down 15cm's at treeline. The solar radiation has bonded those layers. The windslabs are down 50-60 and are also bonding well at treeline. The Feb 10th is down 130-140.
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.
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.