Use caution when transitioning into wind effected areas and treat the Jan 4th layer as a "sleeping giant", it could be a low probability/high consequence situation.
Weather Forecast
We in for another cool cloudy day today with light to moderate southwest winds, alpine temps to -9C and freezing level to 600m . Light precip is on the way tonight with snow and increasing winds forecasted to start Thursday night, possibly up to 25cms by Saturday evening.
Snowpack Summary
Last week's storm produced 50cm of storm snow which is now settling and gaining strength. Soft wind slabs should be expected on lee features after mod-strong S-SW winds on the weekend. Jan 4th interface down 60-100cm and is still producing sporadic whumfing and is possible to trigger especially in less traveled areas or where snowpack is thin.
Avalanche Summary
Natural avalanche activity has tapered off with the cooling temps, however with clear breaks yesterday a size 2.5 avalanche was spotted from a steep south facing ridge off Avalanche Pk The slab released from the base of a steep cliff with a maximum crown depth of ~1m and was likely triggered by cornice fall or solar release from the cliffs above.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations
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.
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.