Scattered flurries and wind have buried older wind slabs and may form new ones. The most reactive deposits will around ridge crests and in wind loaded terrain.
Weather Forecast
SATURDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with flurries, up to 10 cm accumulation / west wind, 35 gusting to 60 km/h / alpine low -4 C / freezing level valley bottomSUNDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries, trace to 10 cm snow / west wind, 20-40 km/h / alpine high -1 C / freezing level 1500 mMONDAY: Mix of sun and cloud / southwest wind, 10-20 km/h / alpine high +1 C / freezing level 1700 mTUESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries / southwest wind, 15-35 km/h / alpine high +3 C / freezing level 1900 m
Avalanche Summary
On Thursday, a couple natural and machine triggered storm slab avalanches 20-40 cm deep and up to size 2.5 were observed on east facing alpine slopes.On Tuesday, a small (size 1) slab avalanche 30 cm deep was remotely triggered by a skier from 80 m away on a northeast aspect at 2250 m. A layer of small surface hoar below the most recent snow may have been the weak layer. Additionally, several loose wet avalanches up to size 1.5 were triggered on solar aspects throughout the day by strong solar radiation.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 10 cm fresh snow covers a melt-freeze crust on all aspects except for north facing slopes above 2000 m, where the snow stayed dry. Prior to Saturdays flurries, the recent 20-40 cm snow accumulated at upper elevations and was redistributed by wind and formed wind slabs. In isolated north-facing alpine terrain, recent snow fell on surface hoar. Older wind slabs sitting on surface hoar might still be sensitive to human triggers.Below treeline snow is disappearing rapidly.
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.