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The new snow of February 26 + 27th has mostly stabilised, and we have a settled spell of weather coming up with a few cms of snow possible on Wednesday and Friday. There may still be some areas of wind slab that could be triggered in the high alpine zone, loose wet is possible on steep sunny slopes lower down, and keep in mind the deep instability at the base of the snowpack in some areas.
MULTIPLE Size 2 wet loose slides at Kudebi 2 S and SW slope starting at 2500-2800 m.
MULTIPLE Size 2 and 3 windslab avalanches on W wall of Kobi lower valley starting at 2700-2950 m.
Two size 3 wet loose avalanche on Kudebi 2 E face towards Khada valley
Multiple Size 1 + 2 storm slab avalanches ran during the storm of February 26th and 27th. A couple of size 3s were also seen.
Multiple size 2 storm slab and wind slabs seen around Lomisa and the drainage to the west. Some were quite wide.
Presumably rider-triggered wind slab on Sadzele. Many previous tracks on the slope and these riders just hit the right spot. Tracks do not equal a safe slope! No reports of anyone caught.
8 Ski-tourers triggered a wind slab in Dedaena on a steep wind-loaded slope. They were all together, and 7 went for a ride. Lucky it was not bigger - everybody remained on the surface. Lesson: spread out!
A new snowfall of around 80cm was recorded on February 26th and 27th, followed by strong N winds overnight on the 28th. Before this in the sub-alpine and alpine zones, recent warming had consolidated the pack, lessening the danger of weak layers - however these same elevations saw significant loose wet avalanche activity, with some very large slides up to size 3.
Above about 2500 m, we still need to watch out for various buried weaknesses, including old surface hoar, sun crusts and weak snow at the ground in isolated locations. Recent tests have not shown unstable results, however it's often difficult now to find areas of shallow snow (less than 150cm) where these weaknesses would be more evident and more problematic.
A few cm of snow and some cloud on Wednesday, Thursday looks sunny, then light snow and clouds again on Friday. Light SW and S winds throughout, with possible moderate W on Friday. Freezing level around 1200 - 1500 m during the daytime.
Greenhouse effect (clouds + sun) can produce rapid warming, sometimes much more than expected. Previously visible obstacles are now buried under new snow - be suspicious of all lumps! Glide cracks and glide avalanches are active - don't stop underneath cracks!