At higher elevations, the snowpack continues to slowly accumulate. Reactive slabs may persist on top of a firm, slippery crust in alpine terrain.
Triggering old storm and wind slabs is still possible in open alpine terrain, particularly near ridgetops and on steep rollovers. If triggered, a buried crust could provide an ideal sliding layer.
No new avalanche activity has been reported since Monday. However, field observations remain very limited.
Please consider sharing your observations with the MIN.
At higher elevations, 10 to 40 cm of dry snow has been redistributed by southerly winds, forming pockets of deeper wind-loaded snow.
A thick, supportive crust formed in early November is widespread across alpine and upper treeline terrain, at depths varying from 30 to 100+ cm, depending on location and wind effects. Reports suggest weak faceted grains are developing above and/or below this crust.
Generally, snowpack depths range from 50–150 cm at treeline and above, with a dramatic decrease in coverage at lower elevations.
Thursday Night
Clearing skies. 0 to 1 cm of snow at treeline. 20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
Friday
Mostly sunny. 10 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
Saturday
Mix of sun and cloud. 0 to 2 cm of snow at treeline. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.
Sunday
Mix of sun and cloud. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
