Asses the terrain and snowpack, test areas of little consequence before committing to your line as the buried persistent weak layers can produce large avalanches if triggered.
Weather Forecast
Unfortunately there won't be a blower 50cm pow day on Christmas this year. A mix of sun and cloud for the day, an alpine high of -10, light ridge top winds from the South and a freezing level remaining at valley bottom. Chance of isolated flurries over the next few days with cool temps and light winds with some snow in the forecast on Saturday.
Snowpack Summary
Great skiing/riding conditions on 60cm of settled storm snow. Pockets of wind slab may be lingering in lee features and cross loads in the alpine and open tree line areas. The Dec 9 and Nov 21 persistent weak layers are down ~100-120cm and still producing Hard and Sudden test results.
Avalanche Summary
Several size 2.5 - 3 natural avalanches were observed yesterday from extreme terrainA widespread avalanche cycle, sz 2 - 3.5 occurred Friday morning with the strong/extreme SW winds. A large sz 3.5 avalanche from Grizzly Peak / Dispatchers Bowl buried 80m of the Connaught Creek skin track, which traveled over 2km from the alpine to valley bottom.
Problems
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.
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.