Head's up for fresh wind slabs at higher elevations. Also, keep an eye on the effects of solar radiation. At the moment, it does not look to be a major concern according to the forecast, but if sunny skies prevail, this could change.
Weather Forecast
Possible very light flurries to start the day Sunday should give way to mostly sunny skies and temperatures near -7 at ridge-top. Winds from the SW will pick up in the afternoon.
Avalanche Summary
A few new slides up to size 2.0 occurred in the past 24 hours, with the common denominators being N to E aspects, steep Alpine terrain, with fracture depths between 10 and 40cm. Some small solar triggered sluffs were also observed.
Snowpack Summary
Recent westerly winds have created new surface wind slabs near ridge crests and in alpine bowls on lee and cross-loaded features. These slabs also exist at treeline, but they are not as widespread. The formerly strong midpack has been decimated by a month of cold weather and is now highly variable in its density, with many areas exhibiting no structure at all. Much of the region's snowpack consists of recent wind slabs sitting on up to 80cm of depth hoar and facets. It will be interesting to see how the snowpack adjusts to the recent load and the forecasted warm temperatures. It is likely that full-depth avalanches will become more commonplace in the next few days.
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.
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.