A welcome addition of up to 25cm's of new snow AND light winds with it. Lots of sluffing today on anything over 40 degrees. Caution with terrain traps at all elevations. Clear skies tomorrow may be a trigger for even more loose dry avalanches.
Weather Forecast
We are on the tail end of the system that has brought us up to 25cm. The snow came with very little wind. Forecasted wind speeds are expected to remain light to moderate for Monday. Monday will start clear with increasing cloud throughout the day. No more precip until Tuesday. Temps will remain steady at -12 in the alpine.
Avalanche Summary
Numerous loose dry out of steep alpine terrain, all aspects. Isolated SSL out of steep unsupported alpine terrain, up to SZ 2.
Snowpack Summary
10-20cm in the last 24hrs. Low density with little cohesion. CTM (SP), down 25 on old windslab. E asp. The new snow is hiding a variety of old surfaces. The slabs that sit below the storm snow are variable in thickness and hardness.
Problems
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.
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.