The potential for triggering an avalanche is still very much present on the buried surface hoar. Be cautious as you venture out into new terrain and consider the consequences of an avalanche on this layer.
Weather Forecast
High pressure ridge will maintain dry conditions through the week. Increasing cloud over our region is forecast today with continued light north west winds. Temperatures will be around -7 at 1800m. Freezing levels are forecast to rise by Tuesday.
Snowpack Summary
A sun crust up to 2cm thick is present on most solar aspects. Settling storm snow over the Dec 17 surface hoar down 60cm-100cm. Crust/facet layers are present just below the Dec 17 layer with varying thicknesses depending on aspect and elevation. The Nov 9 crust is a 30cm basal layer close to or on the ground.
Avalanche Summary
From two days ago, size 2.0 skier triggered avalanche in Loop Brook area, east aspect moraine feature, at 1700m, down ~60cm on the Dec 17 surface hoar layer, 4-6mm in size. 50m wide and 100m long.
Confidence
The weather pattern is stable
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.