Air temperatures are forecast to rise to near or above freezing to ridgeline today and tomorrow. Pay attention to overhead hazards such as cornice or sun exposed start zones
Weather Forecast
Mainly cloudy today, isolated snow showers ridge winds SW 20km/hr. Warming trend, freezing level rising to 1800m today up to 3500m tomorrow. Sunny with cloudy periods tomorrow nil precip ridge winds SW 15km/hr. Wet and warm Wednesday through Friday.
Snowpack Summary
Surface is 30-40 cm settling storm snow and new wind slabs from recent strong southerly winds. January 4 persistant weak layer is down 100cm and continues to produce sudden shears
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed or reported yesterday. Expect to see some new activity today if temperatures get as warm as forecast.
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.
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.