Storm snow along with moderate winds and a weak old snow surface has pushed us into HIGH. Stick to simple terrain.
Weather Forecast
30cm of storm snow have fallen at 1900m and depending on forecast another 15cm is expected today. Alpine temperature should rise to -11C with winds in the moderate gusting to strong range. The outlook for Tuesday is another pulse of moisture with 11cm forecast along with warming temperatures and moderate west wind.
Snowpack Summary
30cm+ of storm snow overnight at 1900m with another 15cm on route today. Moderate gusting to strong SW winds will be redistributing the storm snow onto alpine and treeline lee and crossloaded features forming soft slabs. The other key ingredient is the weak facetted old snow surface. This combo should lead to easily triggered surface soft slabs.
Avalanche Summary
We are expecting an avalanche cycle has started overnight and will continue through the day today. Slides will be in the form of both soft slab and loose dry slides when the weak facetted old snow surface gets overloaded.
Confidence
Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain
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 Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.