The weather pattern is changing and snow is on the way!
As the storm builds avalanche hazard will increase.
20-50cms of snow overlays a buried persistent weak layer. This weak layer consists of surface hoar, facets and/or a suncrust. It will be most reactive where there is a settled, cohesive slab on top of a crust.
New snow and facets make up the upper snowpack. As the incoming light snow slowly builds up, it won't take much of a disturbance to initiate a loose avalanche in steep terrain. Manage your sluff accordingly!
Frequent Flyer in Connaught Creek ran Monday afternoon, size 2, across the skin track, burying ~15-20m of the uptrack up to 50cm deep. Trigger was likely strong solar radiation at ~1pm.
Several loose/dry avalanches up to sz 1 were noted from solar aspects in the hwy corridor during peak hours of strong sunshine.
Neighbouring operations, particularly to the west, are still reporting rider & remote triggered avalanches on the Jan 30th layer.
5-10cm of new snow sits on a faceted, variable hardness upper snowpack.
A weak layer of surface hoar, facets and/or suncrust (Jan 30th) is 20-50cm down. This layer failed easily in snowpack tests at 1700m on the Smart paths. Watch out when this layer gets overloaded!
The Jan 7th layer is down 50-80 and is decomposed surface hoar or a thin crust on South and West aspects. This layer has been inactive recently.
An active weather pattern is developing with a juicy storm on the horizon.
Tonight Cloudy with flurries, Snow: 4cm . Alpine low -7°C. Ridge winds SW 15km/hr
Thurs Cloudy with isolated flurries. Alp high -6°C. Ridge wind SW 20km/h. FZL 1500m.
Fri Flurries. 8cm. Alp high -6°C. Ridge wind SW 25-40km/h. FZL 1500m.
Sat Snow 20 cms. Alp high -5°C. Ridge wind SW 30 gusting 65 Freezing level (FZL) rising to 1300m.
