Recent strong southwest winds have created fresh wind slabs on lee features at treeline and above. These wind slabs may be surprisingly reactive in areas where they are sitting on a spotty layer of small surface hoar.
Recent strong southwest winds have created fresh wind slabs on lee features at treeline and above. These wind slabs may be surprisingly reactive in areas where they are sitting on a layer of small surface hoar.
A crust from early November exists down about 50-75 cm. This layer has weak, sugary facets above and below it. This layer is most likely to be reactive to human triggers on south facing slopes and in shallow, rocky, snowpack areas in the alpine.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Clear / Light, west wind / alpine low temperature -13 / Freezing level valley bottom.
SUNDAY: Mostly sunny / Light, west wind / alpine high temperature -6 / Freezing level valley bottom.
MONDAY: Cloudy with flurries; 0-3 cm. / Light to moderate, west wind / alpine high temperature -7 / Freezing level valley bottom.
TUESDAY: Mostly sunny / Light, west wind / alpine high temperature -9 / Freezing level valley bottom.
Check out this notable skier triggered avalanche from Quartz Creek on Thursday. The recently buried layer of small surface hoar that caused this avalanche could likely catch riders by surprise this weekend!
In the past week there have been a few size 2 avalanches reported on the early November crust. These have been triggered by both humans and explosives.
If you get out into the mountains, please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network!
Recent strong southwest winds have created fresh wind slabs on lee features at treeline and above. There have been a couple human triggered avalanches on a recently buried layer of small surface hoar. This layer has been reported as "spotty" and is most likely to be present in sheltered areas. There is a crust from early November that is down approximately 50-75 cm. This layer has been observed to have weak, sugary facets above and below it and is most likely to be reactive to human triggers on south facing slopes and in shallow, rocky, snowpack areas in the alpine.
