An Arctic air mass approaches, bringing cold temps and light Northerly winds. The freshly formed wind slabs and the Nov 17 persistent slab remain sensitive to human triggering.
There are still many early-season hazards just below the snow surface. Bring extra warm layers and leave plenty of time to ski out in daylight at the end of your day.
Strong South West winds have redistributed the recent 50cm of storm snow into fresh wind slabs in the alpine and down into treeline.
The Nov 17 surface hoar, facets and crust is now buried by 50-80cm of snow and has been reactive on convex rolls and steep slopes. Investigate smaller adjacent slopes before stepping out into bigger terrain.
A natural, widespread avalanche cycle occurred early Sunday morning with numerous avalanches in the size 1.5-2.5 range and a few up to size 3.0
Natural avalanche activity is tapering off, but the persistent slab and new wind slabs will remain sensitive to human triggering.
50cm of storm snow over the last few days accompanied by strong SW winds on Sunday has built fresh wind slabs. The Nov 17 persistent slab (surface hoar, facets, and crust) is down 60-80cm. The surface hoar (5-30mm) is largest at treeline and below.
The early season hazards are slowly being buried but still remain a concern. The height of snow at treeline is ~140cm.
An Arctic airmass from the North will slide down into the region bringing cold temperatures, dry conditions, and a mix of sun and cloud on Monday. Alpine temps will range from -15 to -20.
Snow and warming temperatures are forecasted to return by Wednesday.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
