Yesterday's heat and today's sun is helping to stabilize the snow, but it is taking a bit of toll on the ski quality. North aspects at upper treeline could be the place for decent skiing.
Weather Forecast
Tonight will see the freezing level drop back down to valley bottom with winds at 25km/hr from the west. Tomorrow will be cloudy with flurries delivering only trace amounts of new snow. Tomorrow's high will be -5 at 2500m. Winds will be steady at the 30km/hr mark. Freezing level will rise to 1700m.
Avalanche Summary
Evidence of a loose wet cycle from yesterday is very evident on all aspects. Lots of snow balling out of steep terrain. 1 new slab was noted during a flight yesterday. It was an alpine start zone, east aspect and sz 2.5. Likely a cornice trigger.
Snowpack Summary
Yesterday's heat had a dramatic effect on the snowpack. We saw moist snow as high as 2300m on solar aspects and 2200 on polar aspects. This has created yet another crust at lower elevations. Mid elevations and polar aspects have escaped the new crust, but likely saw significant settlement. In the alpine, it was noted that the Feb 27th crust is very prominent on the south aspects and down 60-80cm in blown in areas. On the northerly aspects, this crust is limited to below treeline and treeline where the warm air settled. Cornices continue to grow in all lee terrain.
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.
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.