Confidence
Fair - Due to variable snowpack conditions
Weather Forecast
Thursday: Generally overcast skies / Light southwest winds / Freezing level at 1300mFriday: Light snowfall becoming moderate in the afternoon / Strong southwest winds / Freezing level at 1000mSaturday: Light snowfall / Light northwest winds / Freezing level at 1000m
Avalanche Summary
On Monday a couple of notable small avalanches were triggered on a northwest facing alpine feature on Mt Currie. A skier remotely triggered a size 1.5 avalanche from 50m away on a NW facing slope that sympathetically triggered another size 1 avalanche. These slides may have failed on surface hoar crystals. A few natural avalanches to size 2.5 were observed, possibly occurring on this same interface. I would expect another round of storm slab activity in the wake of Wednesday's storm.
Snowpack Summary
Moderate amounts of snow fell on Wednesday. In the south of the region, heavy accumulations (~40cm) were observed. At lower elevations rain continued to saturate the snowpack. The storm was accompanied by moderate to strong south/southwest winds which left variable snow distribution in exposed terrain with dense wind slabs forming in lee and cross-loaded features. Up to 85cm below the surface you will likely find moist snow or a melt-freeze crust (depending on elevation) from last week's sunny weather. At the same interface, you may find spotty surface hoar on high north facing terrain. Large natural activity and remote triggers from earlier in the week suggest the surface hoar may continue to be reactive, especially with the weight of the new snow. Cornices are very large and could pop off with continued mild temperatures.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.