Winter continues, along with the associated great skiing and multitude of avalanche problems. Don't let sunny skies and powder affect your decision making.
Weather Forecast
A shallow ridge of high pressure brings clearer weather while Arctic air to the north lingers until Wednesday, continuing to cool the local airmass.Moderate to strong SW winds Tuesday night will taper into Wednesday. Alpine temps will be Low -9, High -4, with the freezing level reaching 1800m mid-day.
Snowpack Summary
New soft slabs and varied degrees of wind effect found in all open areas. The upper snowpack is very sensitive to changes in temps, solar, or precipitation of any kind. Persistent slab will continue be a reoccurring problem, especially where no previous activity has been noted.
Avalanche Summary
Visibility improved over the day and we observed evidence of a wide spread cycle capturing all sorts of problems! Deep wide slabs from steep, rocky terrain. Numerous point releases. Soft slab releases from new loaded and wind pressed features.
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.
Cornices
Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.