Keep a good eye on changing depth of snow, as well as the variable wind slabs. Even though stability is improving daily it is still a December snow pack and there are still lots of spots to get into trouble. Good skiing can be found in sheltered areas.
Wind slabs (now buried by up to 15cm of recent snow) are widespread. In steep and unsupported terrain, they could be sensitive to human triggering.
Recent avalanches have stepped down to this layer triggerring large avalanches.
Temperatures down in the -23 range overnight and in valley bottoms with a daytime high near -10 at Treeline. Wednesday may bring some light flurries, but accumulations will be minimal.
No new avalanches observed today. With the clear weather we are still seeing the evidence of the pre Christmas avalanche cycle.
This surface snow is soft and fluffy in some areas, and wind affected in others, especially as you transition to the Alpine. Extensive wind slabs were formed in the pre-Christmas storm, and it is worth noting that the storm arrived with extreme Northerly winds, which switched to extreme SW winds in the following days. Therefore, the region has buried wind slabs on virtually all aspects. The depth and character of these slabs is highly variable, and it is worth a dig before committing to more aggressive terrain. Forecasters are still tracking the Dec 8th layer (surface hoar, facets, crust) now down 40 to 80cm, but this layer has been inactive in recent days. The November rain crust is also worth keeping an eye on especially in shallow snowpack areas where it might be possible to skier trigger this layer, If or when it slides it will end up bing a large avalanche.
