Our first "storm" of the season is forecasting 20cm of snow over the next 36hrs with strong SW winds. We may begin to see avalanche danger increase over the next few days.
Weather Forecast
A few cm of new snow will likely fall overnight and then forecasts are calling for 10 on Friday and another 10cm on Saturday. This new snow is forecast to come with strong SW winds so we can expect avalanche danger to slowly increase. Access our weather stations on www.avalanche.ca
Avalanche Summary
No new natural or skier triggerred avalanches were noted today.
Snowpack Summary
5-10cm of recent snow with strong winds hasn't really changed the current state of the snowpack that much. Winds were strong on Thursday and as a result hard windslabs have been building in alpine and treeline areas. The main layer of concern is the Nov 12th, down 20-30cm. This layer may begin to produce more avalanches as the snowloads increase. Below 2000m the skiing is fairly rugged,
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.