Stay sharp as reverse loading has formed windslab in unusual places. The sun may wake up steep solar surface layers.
Weather Forecast
Sunny with cloudy periods and no precipitation. Alpine temperature -21C with ridge top winds E at 20km/h, brrr! More arctic high pressure to mid week. Stay warm and plan and early turn around time.
Snowpack Summary
Major features of the snowpack; 1. surface windslabs in alpine and exposed treeline locations from both strong S'ly winds Dec 30 and reverse loading from the arctic air invasion, 2. spotty Dec 26 surface hoar layer found in protected locations, 3. Dec 18th facet/surface hoar interface down 80cm in the snowpack. Avoid unsupported terrain features.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanche activity observed in the highway corridor.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations
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.