Fresh wind slabs are the main concern in the snowpack and they will be sensitive to human triggering for the next couple of days. Also watch for previously formed wind slabs found on all aspects.
Weather Forecast
Thursday will be mostly cloudy with strong SW winds. Friday and Saturday could see light snow accumulations and cooler temperatures.
Avalanche Summary
Limited natural slab avalanche activity has been observed in Alpine terrain on all aspects.
Snowpack Summary
Another 10 to 12cm of new snow in the past 24 hours pushes the recent storm snow up to between 30 to 40cm. The storm snow interface produced moderate shears today in snowpack tests. Wind slabs are dominant in Alpine and Treeline areas, especially in lee and cross-loaded features. The November crust layer buried between 50 and 90cm continues to be a layer we are watching closely, but snowpack test results remain highly variable at this interface. The low elevation snowpack remains weak and facetted.
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.
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.