We're due for a change...hopefully this is it. Snow is in the extended forecast, but until it arrives we're stuck with the the ongoing theme of a weak, shallow snowpack. The incoming snow amounts may vary. Keep an eye out for changing conditions.
Confidence
Good - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Tuesday
Weather Forecast
The winds are here to stay for the next few days. For our entire forecast period, the ridge top winds are expected to be in the strong to extreme range. Gusts to 105 km/h are expected tomorrow at 3000m. Hold on tight if you're going up high! There is some light at the end of the tunnel in terms of snow. Not much for tomorrow, but by tues evening we may have as much as 14cm. Temps will stay relatively warm as well.
Avalanche Summary
No natural avalanches were noted today.
Snowpack Summary
In most areas the new snow from yesterday has been stripped by the wind. There are sheltered pockets that still have some new snow, but for the most part we're back to the old surface snow. Travel is still punchy with brief moments of supportive trailbreaking quickly followed by more tedious, deep trailbreaking. Our faceted snow pack is holding steady (so to speak).
Problems
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.