When looking for ski terrain, constantly evaluate the snowpack and the Feb11 layer. Watch for signs of instability (whumphing and cracking) and plan routes accordingly. Cautious terrain is still the name of the game.
Weather Forecast
We have some good weather heading our way for the next 3 days atleast. Skies will remain clear with maybe some thin high cloud. Winds are expected to be light from variable directions. No snow expected. And cold temps to go with the good weather spell. The temps are expected to climb gradually, but the jury is out on that. We'll see...
Avalanche Summary
More avalanches were seen from the cycle that passed through a few days ago now. They were at all elevations, N-S aspects and up to sz2.5. The common theme between them was unsupported terrain.
Snowpack Summary
The winds picked up a bit today at ridgeline to alpine elevations. There was some slight wind effect at treeline, but only minor windslab development. Minor loose dry avalanches were noted out of steep cliff terrain. These will probably continue as the surface snow facets out and looses strength. Generally the upper snowpack seems to be settling reasonably well given the new snow from Friday and the cold temps. There was still whumphing and cracking in open at treeline and below. The midpack varies from a weak facetted pack to a very firm and supportive layer that dates back to a wind event in early January.
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.