Ski quality has deteriorated significantly due to recent strong winds. Wind slabs are still a concern for human triggering in steeper terrain and some isolated natural activity has occurred including a close call for some ice climbers Sunday.
Weather Forecast
Unfortunately not much in the forecast for snow over the next few days. Tuesday will be cloudy with sunny periods. Alpine temperatures will reach a high of -9 °C and ridge-top winds will be from the west at 15 km/h.
Avalanche Summary
A few small naturally triggered loose dry avalanches have occurred in the past 24hrs in very steep Alpine terrain.A size 1.5 slab avalanche occurred on the SE aspect of Mt Smuts sometime in the last 24 to 36 hrs. The slab initiated in the Alpine and flowed to the top of the run-out zone.Our office received a report late yesterday of an avalanche that flowed over the ice climb Kidd Falls on Mt Kidd. Thankfully the reporting party was just packing up their gear and was not involved in the slide. It is unclear if the slide was a loose dry or a wind slab.
Snowpack Summary
Wind slabs are widespread in the Alpine through most of the forecast area. Though still present at Treeline, these slabs are generally much less pronounced. Recent stability tests indicate "hard" results below these slabs. "Hard" results are also found on the Nov 12th crust layer which is now buried 50cm on average at Treeline elevations. At lower elevations the snowpack remains quite shallow with numerous early season hazards.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.