Confidence
Fair - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
A ridge of high pressure will continue to keep things cold and dry well into next week. We should see a mix of sun and cloud for all 3 days of the forecast period, and no significant precipitation is expected. Winds are expected be light and northerly. Alpine temperatures should hover around -15 for Sunday, dropping steadily to about -20 by Tuesday.
Avalanche Summary
No recent avalanche activity has been reported.
Snowpack Summary
In many areas light amounts of new snow overlie well developed surface hoar and old stubborn wind slabs. A melt-freeze crust is now buried on most slopes that saw direct sun last week. In some parts of the region the recent snow has been shifted by light winds into soft slabs, and in certain cases wind has stripped surfaces down to old hard slabs which formed weeks ago.The main concern in the region continues to be the weak buried faceted snow which exists in the mid or lower snowpack (depending where you are in the region). No avalanche activity has been reported at this interface for some time; however, weaknesses continue to appear in snowpack tests. Although unlikely, avalanches at this interface could have nasty consequences. Possible triggers for this layer include cornice fall, rapid temperature change or a heavy load over a thin spot.
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.