Weather
• No precipitation • -6 °C • 1 m/s • Calm cloudy. Some snow showers in the past 24 hours, from SW. temps have been between -1 and -7, 24 hour sun starting to affect snow pack.
Snow Cover
• No snowdrift • 1 cm • Storm slab (soft slab) • Moist • Some small snow showers in the past 24 hours with a soft slab forming. Snow came with some wind from sw but sun and warmer temperature seem to have softened it quite a bit.
Tests
• ECTX • Good • Expected slab to slide but with soft and moist snowpack it sank down instead.
Snow Profile
• W • Dug down to hard melt freeze layer. Snow pit was dug where deepest snow is found on western aspects in longyeardalen. • 10 Stratigraphy layers • 6 temperature points observed
Avalanche Problems
• Dry slab avalanche • Poor bonding between crust and overlying snow • Within half a meter • The overlying slab is soft. • Difficult to trigger • 2 - Medium • Some steep slopes N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW • Poor bonding to crust layer from earlier mild weather. However new snow has warmed up so instead of sliding, slab 'sinks' into snowpack. Might change with colder temperatures forecasted.
Avalanche Danger Assessment
• Sporadic snow cover in Longyeardalen, and where snow is deeper on western aspects appears to be quite stable soft slabs at the moment so not so worried about cornice triggered slab avalanches for now. • Temperatures are supposed to drastically drop next week so should monitor snow pack to see if faceting occurs. Some wind forecasted from the north and there is snow available for transport. • 2 Moderate • Forecast correct