Look for wind slabs on all aspects at higher elevations. Use ridges and ribs to avoid wind-loaded areas.
Variable winds have affected all aspects at higher elevations. Watch for windslab as you transition into wind-affected areas especially around ridge crests and in steep terrain.
On Sunday, a few natural windslab avalanches were observed in the region. The largest was a size 2.5 on a north-northeasterly slope at 2100 m.
On Saturday, reports were limited to a few explosives cornice releases to size 2 and thin size 1 wind and storm slab releases in steep alpine terrain.
On Friday natural and skier-triggered slabs were reported from steep terrain features at higher elevations to size 2. Check out this MIN from Mt Pattison. Small loose wet avalanches were also reported on sun-affected slopes as skies cleared.
10-20 cm of storm snow has been redistributed by moderate winds, into deeper deposits in wind-affected terrain features. This sits over 50 cm of settling snow at higher elevations, tapering rapidly with elevation due to the recent warm temperatures.
Below 1600m new snow may sit directly on a thick melt freeze crust which is helping to strengthen the snowpack.
The lower snowpack is still being monitored by professionals. The late December crust is down 70 to 120 cm. This crust can be found in the alpine but is thin and breakable. Near the base of the snowpack, there is a weak facet/crust layer that formed in mid-November. Although unlikely, there remains a concern for large loads (e.g. cornice failure) to trigger or riders to trigger these layers in thin spots. In general, the current snowpack is thinner and weaker than is typical.
Monday Night
Cloudy with isolated flurries, trace accumulation. Westerly ridgetop winds of 15-40 km/h. Overnight temperature low -7C. Freezing level of 800 m.
Tuesday
Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries, trace accumulation. Westerly ridge top winds light gusting moderate. 1500m temperature high of -2C. Freezing levels of 1200 m during the day.
Overnight an above freezing layer begins to develop between 1500-2800m.
Wednesday
Sunny with cloudy periods. Westerly ridge top winds 15 km/h gusting to40 km/h. 1500m temperature high of +2C. An above freezing layer is present between 1500-2800m.
Thursday
Mix of sun and cloud. Westerly ridge top winds 15 km/h gusting to 40 km/h. 1500m temperature high of +1C. An above freezing layer is present between 1500-2800m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
