Wind slabs in exposed leeward terrain features remain the primary concern. Use caution around wind-loaded features.
Confidence
Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Thursday
Weather Forecast
Another 3-5mm of precipitation is expected Monday overnight. Light lingering flurries are expected for Tuesday with freezing levels around 1200m and light NW winds in the alpine. A ridge of high pressure should keep the region dry on Wednesday. A mix of sun and cloud is expected with light winds. Another warm, wet system is expected for Thursday with models currently showing around 20mm of precipitation falling during the day on Thursday. Unfortunately, freezing levels are forecast to rise to over 2000m again. This looks like the theme for the weekend with heavy precipitation and high freezing levels until at least Sunday.
Avalanche Summary
On both Sunday and Monday, ski-cutting and explosives were producing thin soft slabs which were running on the firm crust layer. These were limited to size 1 and were isolated to wind affected terrain. Sluffing from steep terrain features was also reported. Similar conditions are expected on Tuesday with natural avalanches not expected and skier-triggered avalanches remaining possible in wind-loaded features.
Snowpack Summary
10-20cm of new snow overlies a hard rain crust that exists up to at least 2100m. In exposed terrain, the new accumulations have been shifted by strong SW winds into wind slabs which may be especially reactive due to the underlying crust. Deeper snowpack weaknesses have become unreactive on account of the strong capping crust layer.
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.