The windslabs that have been plaguing us for the last week have been changed to a persistent slab. These will linger for a long time yet. Treat them with respect and be patient while we wait for them to improve.
Weather Forecast
A general cooling trend over the next 4 days. There is expected to be flurries throughout the remainder of the week that will amount to 10cm, by the start of the weekend. Moderate winds with a general western flow.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were observed today. But it is worth noting the observation opportunities were limited.
Snowpack Summary
Light amounts of new snow in the last 24hrs has added some additional load to the snow pack. There are a variety of slabs in the upper pack that amount to a total depth of 40-60cm's. Given the slow bond with the Feb 11 interface, and persistent nature of the Feb 11th layer, the current windslabs are now being considered persistent slabs at alpine and treeline elevations. Below treeline, the upper snowpack lacks sufficient cohesion to be a significant avalanche concern.
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.