Touchy slabs may exist on steep and wind loaded slopes, carefully monitor the new snow for signs of instability.
Confidence
Moderate - Wind speed and direction is uncertain
Weather Forecast
SATURDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with isolated flurries, strong southwest wind, alpine temperatures drop to -12 C.SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy with sunny breaks, strong west wind, alpine high temperatures around -8 C.MONDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, moderate northwest wind, alpine high temperatures around -10 C.TUESDAY: Cloudy skies, scattered flurries with 5 cm of snow, moderate to strong west wind, alpine high temperatures around -10 C.
Avalanche Summary
No recent avalanches have been reported, but the combination of new snow and strong wind has likely left reactive wind slabs in steep terrain.
Snowpack Summary
10-20 cm of snow has fallen in the past few days with strong wind potentially forming deeper deposits at high elevations. The new snow sits above a layer of large surface hoar crystals and sun crusts, potentially creating touchy slab conditions. In addition to wind loaded slopes, other suspect areas are steep rolls below 2000 m (where the largest surface hoar exists) and steep south-facing slopes in the alpine (where sun crusts exist).The middle and lower portions of the snowpack are generally well-settled and strong.
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.