15-30 cm of new snow with strong SW winds have added new load on the persistent weak layer. Expect a natural cycle on the Feb 3rd crust/facet combo. Make conservative terrain choices until the avalanche cycle has run its course and the snow has settled.
Windslabs 20-40 cm thick formed with strong SW wind Sat-Mon. Winds will be strong to extreme SW on Wed and will continue to build slabs on the same aspects. These slabs will have the potential to step down to deeper persistent layers.
Several crusts are now being buried in our snowpack. The most concerning is the Feb 03 crust which has a sensitive layer of facets above it in many places. We suspect this layer will become more sensitive with the additional load.
Avalanche observations have been limited due to poor visibility in the Park, but a few large avalanches in surrounding areas have been observed failing on a persistent weak layer.
20-30 cm in the past 24 hrs has been redistributed into fresh windslabs on lee aspects. This sits on older windslab 20-40 thick or a sun crust on steep solar aspects at all elevations. The Feb 3rd crust is down 40-70cm and has a thin layer of weak facets above it. The lower snowpack is a well-settled crust/facet complex to the ground. Average snowpack depths are between 100 - 175 cm.
Tues
Cloudy, light snow up to 5cm. Light to strong SW winds with an alpine high of -18°C
Wed
Cloudy, light snow with minimal accumulation. Strong to extreme SW winds with an alpine high of -7°C
Thurs
Cloudy, with 5 - 10 cm of snow possible. Moderate to strong SW winds with an alpine high of -6°C
For more info see: Mountain Weather Forecast.
