We should finally see a bit of snow over the next few days! Unfortunately it won't likely amount to very much, in which case the hazard level will remain unchanged. Keep an eye on local conditions.
Weather Forecast
Believe it or not there is actually some snow in the forecast! Monday will only be a trace of snow with as much as 5 to 10cm by Wednesday. That's not much, but it's better than nothing! Winds will be moderate from the SW on Monday with temperatures near -8 under cloudy skies. Tuesday will likely be a bit colder and overcast with light flurries.
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new in the past week.
Snowpack Summary
Not much has changed in the snowpack for some time now. The only exception to this would be the continued facetting, particularly of the surface snow. Small wind slabs still exist near alpine ridges in lee and cross-loaded terrain, and if initiated will likely step down into the weak base layers and involve the the full depth of the snowpack. In steep and unsupported terrain there is still avalanche hazard, despite the very slow start (shallow snowpack) we are experiencing.
Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.