Two persistent weak layers (surface hoar) are buried in the upper 40cm. These layers take additional time to bond with the new snow, necessitating folks to stick to well-supported, lower-angled terrain lest they tickle the underbelly of the surface hoar beast.
Surface slabs have the potential to dig deeper, triggering the deep persistent slab, resulting in large, destructive avalanches.
The Jan 3 surface hoar (5-10mm) is buried ~40cm and has been reactive to human triggering and explosive testing over the last week. If triggered, this slab could step down to deeper layers, resulting in a large avalanche.
The Nov 17 layer, which consists of a faceted crust and decomposing surface hoar, highlights a weak basal snowpack.
Be particularly cautious in steep, rocky areas with thin snow coverage, where the majority of the snowpack is weak and faceted.
Natural avalanche activity has slowed, with isolated sz 1.5-2 soft slabs observed from mostly steep S'ly terrain. The weekend's avalanche cycle saw numerous sz 2-3 storm and persistent slabs ripping out of Mts MacDonald and Tupper. The west side of the Pass saw smaller results (sz 1.5-2) on Mts Smart, Abbott, Ross Pk, and Cougar Mtn.
Two surface hoar (SH) layers, present in the upper 40cm, are potential failure planes if the new snow stiffens up on top of them. The mid-pack facets are slowly rounding and gaining strength, while the basal facets and Nov 17 facet/SH/crust weakness are still reactive when isolated in snowpack tests.
The Coastal storms don't seem to have enough punch to get to the Pass. General cooling trend and isolated flurries this week.
Tues: mainly cloudy, trace snow, Alp high -8*C, 1100m FZL, light SW ridge winds
Wed: mix of cloud and sun, trace snow, Alp high -8*C, 1100m FZL, light SW ridge winds
