Fresh snow and strong winds may form reactive wind slabs.
Assess steep slopes for dense or stiff snow before committing.
Increasing winds will impact flurries and loose snow. Watch for reactive wind slabs around ridgelines and cross-loaded features.
Riders were able to trigger a few small size 1 wind slabs on Thursday.
If you are out and about in the mountains, please consider posting your observations to the MIN.
At treeline and above, 8–12 cm of new snow sits on top of faceted snow or surface hoar. The upper snowpack is mixed: wind-affected in open areas and softer in sheltered spots, all sitting on the mid-November crust buried 30–50 cm deep. Lower in the snowpack, there are several crusts, and in some areas weak, sugary facets can be found near the ground.
Total snowpack depths are roughly 80 to 120 cm, tapering quickly at lower elevations.
In many areas, especially below treeline, there is not enough snow to smooth out surface roughness or reach the threshold needed for avalanches.
Friday night
Cloudy. 5 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Saturday
Cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy. Up to 5 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Monday
Cloudy with flurries, 20 cm. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
