Watch for other parties above and below you today; the sunny weekend will draw out many tourers. Be careful of hidden hazards (rocks, alders, open creeks) in the early season snowpack.
Weather Forecast
Cloudy with sunny breaks today, light westerly mtn-top winds, and freezing levels remaining in the valley bottom today. Similar conditions on Sunday, with freezing levels rising to 1100m. A minor storm will move through Monday, bringing 5-10cm of snow, warmer temp's, and moderate southerly winds.
Snowpack Summary
In the past 72hrs, 15-20cm of new snow buried surface hoar or suncrust at treeline and sheltered alpine locations, creating a new weak layer (November 21 surface hoar). A 20cm crust left over from late October sits on the ground and may be poorly bonded on some high elevation north aspects. Snow depth is 60cm at 1300m and 150cm at 2000m.
Avalanche Summary
Artillery shots on Thursday produced a size 2.0 from a high alpine start zone. No natural avalanches were observed yesterday.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.