The surface slabs are getting stiffer and more reactive after last night's wind. As that slab tightens, the likelihood of a person triggering it increases.
Weather Forecast
Winds will calm down slightly tonight. Expect 30km wind to settle to 15km for tomorrow. As they settle, they will also swing to come out of the north. No significant snow is expected. Alpine highs will be around 0°.
Avalanche Summary
A new wind slab was observed in the alpine near HIghwood Pass. It was a freshly formed windslab that was larger than what we've seen in the past few days. A healthy size 2.
Snowpack Summary
As predicted, the winds made a strong appearance today. Pretty much all elevations had some wind effect going on. The alpine was by far the worst, with slabs being formed well down of ridge crests. These alpine slabs will be dense enough to be s significant concern. Treeline is the hidden hazard now. The snow above the Jan 6th layer is now firm enough to act as a slab and propagate once the underlying layers are disturbed. While we haven't really added any load to the snowpack, the dense surface slab is enough to make the Jan 6 surface hoar a real concern
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.