We have lowered the Hazard to Moderate. Remember, the snowpack as a whole this season is very weak and untrustworthy at the moment. The temperatures remain arctic. Warmer temperatures are in store over the holidays and will most definitely be a better time to get out and stretch the legs.
This layer should be monitored as elevation is gained. Despite being labelled as deep, it can be a ways off the ground. Expect this layer to get worse with the incoming cold.
Road patrol down the spray saw no one out recreating and no new avalanches observed.
The current snow pack continues to facet out quickly with the cold weather. Like the rest of the region, there isn't a lot of snow. We have 85cm at treeline and the odd pocket of 1m. What really caught our attention was the snowpack variability based on elevation. The surface hoar from last month is very prominent up to about 2100m. This layer will vary from area to area, but be sure to have a look for it as it is notable. The other general statement is how weak and poor the regional snowpack is. There is a theme of a somewhat settled upper snowpack resting on a foundation of facets and growing depth hoar. Where the snowpack failures occur seems to vary in depth, but the failures are very, very consistent in their character. They are failing fast, with little warning. It's easy to get caught up in the semantics of layer types and descriptions, but at the end of the day we have a nasty weak layer that is predictably failing. Do your homework, dig your holes and be sure you have a good grip on your local terrain before you commit to consequential terrain.
A slight reprieve on Tuesday with day time highs of -22 in the alpine. couple of Cm of snow and Light winds out of the SW.
WednesdayBack in to the deep freeze with night time low's of -37 and day time highs of -31!!
Don't worry, the winds will swap to the North and the air will have an extra bite to it.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
