Wind slab formation has been extensive. Avalanches are most likely to fail on steep wind-loaded southerly and westerly slopes, especially near ridgetops.
Recent strong to extreme easterly winds have created thick, reactive, wind slabs on leeward slopes. It's a good idea to give these slabs a few days to bond before exposing yourself to committing terrain.
Wednesday: North of Stewart recent extreme winds resulted in a natural cycle of size 1.5 to 2.5 wind slab avalanches. They occurred on leeward north through east faces. Shooting cracks, which are a sign of instability, were also reported in wind slabs by snowmobilers. These slabs may stay reactive to human triggering for several days.
Early season reports have been extremely limited. Please consider submitting your observations to the Mountain Information Network.
Thick and reactive wind slabs have formed on many lee slopes. Expect to find sastrugi and hard wind-scoured surfaces in all open wind-exposed areas at upper elevations.
A rain crust from early November is buried 50 to 100 cm deep in the alpine.
Snow depths vary across the region but generally range from 100 to 200 cm in the alpine and about 50 cm at 1000 m.
Thursday night
Mostly clear. 15 to 25 km/h southeast wind. Treeline temperature low -11°C.
Friday
Mostly sunny. 30 to 50 km/h east wind. Treeline temperature high -9 °C.
Saturday
Cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h southeast wind. Treeline temperature high -14 °C.
Sunday
Mostly sunny. 25 to 40 km/h east wind. Treeline temperature high -12 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
