Wind slabs may be lurking at higher elevations. Use extra caution on lee slopes at treeline and in the alpine.
Weather Forecast
Cloudy overnight with moderate northwest winds and a chance of flurries. Chance of broken skies on Thursday with light westerly winds and temperatures between -5 and -10 in the alpine. Winds increasing to strong westerly on Friday with a few cm of new snow and rising freezing levels. Mostly clear on Saturday with strong northwest winds and alpine temperatures around -5 celcius.
Avalanche Summary
No new reports from this region.
Snowpack Summary
Early season snowpack observations are still very limited in the region but the threshold for avalanches has been exceeded at treeline and in the alpine. Reports suggest that the snow depth at treeline is typically 110-150cm but a report from the east side of region shows only 80cm at treeline. The snowpack tapers off drastically below treeline and below around 1700m there is not yet enough snow for avalanches. On Friday and Saturday, generally light amounts of storm snow and strong winds were reported to have formed wind slabs in leeward terrain at treeline and in the alpine. Limited reports suggest the crust from the middle of November is down 50-80cm and the crust from early November is down 80-110cm.
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.