Mainly cloudy on Thursday with isolated flurries along the divide. Clearing and cooling trend for Friday as Arctic air pushes down from the north. Day time highs in the alpine in the mid-teens.Check our weather stations for current conditions.
Snowpack Summary
Surface facetting over-top of a well settled mid and lower pack. Sun crusts exist on steep S/SW aspects and large surface hoar is forming below 2000m. Isolated wind slabs exist in the alpine. Below 2000m, the Dec 3 layer of surface hoar and facets remains visible down 20-50 cm but is currently dormant. Thin areas are faceting out and weakening.
Avalanche Summary
No new slab avalanches reported in past few days, but a party triggered a size 1.5 sluff avalanche in a steep gully on Tuesday. This relatively small avalanche gained speed, hit a party below and they tumbled down the couloir. A good example of a small avalanche having a big impact due to the committing nature of the terrain.
Confidence
Problems
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.
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.