Stewart

Winter conditions now exist in the mountains. Gear up with a transceiver, shovel, and probe, and factor avalanches into your trip planning. A preliminary snowpack description has been added to this forecast. The first official avalanche forecasts of the season will be issued November 25 at 4 PM PST

November 7 Update:

Heavily wind affected surfaces predominate at alpine elevations and exposed areas, the product of strong to extreme outflow winds over the early part of the week. In sheltered areas, a weak layer of surface hoar is suspected to be preserved up to about 25 cm deep. At mid and lower elevations, this surface hoar may overlie a melt-freeze crust that would increase its sensitivity to triggering.

Another layer of surface hoar was reported to be reactive in the Ashman area last week and likely now sits 50-60 cm deep. Both of these layers are worth investigating for their presence, depth, and reactivity going forward.

Total snowpack depths of 90-150 cm can now be found at alpine elevations, tapering to around 80 cm at lower treeline. Snowpack depths are generally greatest toward the north and west of the region  The snowpack in many below treeline areas remains below threshold depth for avalanches. 

See the Mountain Weather Forecast to help you plan your early winter trips.