Sheltered areas at tree line and below are offering up fantastic skiing and deep trail breaking. Convective pulses of snow have brought varied amounts throughout the region; be wary of these areas where wide variations and localized wind exist.
Weather Forecast
Pulses of snow, heavy at times fell in the forecast area over the day Wednesday and snowfall amounts vary widely through the region. This is expected to continue through the night and into the day Thursday. The wind continues to be light to moderate and you can expect ridge tops to be blowing and transporting the new snow.
Snowpack Summary
Total storm snow over the Mar 15 interface is approx. 40 cm but quite variable. Open areas in the southern forecast area are showing more surface wind effect. The Mar 15 interface is weak; facets over variable surfaces depending on aspect and exposure but very little slab development in the storm snow.
Avalanche Summary
Sluffing from steep east facing rock slab alpine features observed today in the Winston Churchill region. Overall visibility poor above treeline.
Confidence
Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain
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.