Stiff windslabs are widespread in alpine terrain. If these fail there is potential to step down to the basal November crust. Good sliding can be found at the treeline and below!
If your in the alpine, good chance there are windlslabs. At treeline they are in more specific open areas and unsupported or crossloaded slopes should be avoided.
Cornices have been growing of late and failing triggerring avalanches on the underlying slopes
Recent avalanches have stepped down to this layer triggerring large avalanches.
A few more cm's of snow is forecast to fall over the next 24hrs but accumulations are not expected to be significant. Temperatures will begin to cool and winds will continue in the light to moderate range out of the SW.
No new avalanches were observed over the past 24hrs. An investigation of the Commonwealth ridge avalanche found a fracture line up to 2m deep in places that failed overlying the Nov crust running to the valley floor.
5cm of snow over the past 24hrs is overlying the recent wind slabs that were developed during the Christmas break. Alpine areas are significantly wind affected with some ridgelines scrubbed down to rock and other filled with plump slabs. In some areas the the overburden of the new wind loaded snow awoke the facets overlying the Nov crust triggerring isolated deep slab avalanches up to sz 3. At treeline windslabs are more specific in nature and unsupported or crossloaded features should be places to avoid. Hollow or drummy sounds are a good indication you are moving into wind affected terrain.
