Challenging valley bottom access/egress is leading everyone into the same areas. Beware of riders above and below you and always be on the look out for the early season Selkirk snow sharks just below the surface.
Weather Forecast
Mainly cloudy today with periods of sunshine as the ridge of high pressure prevents any precipitation pushing inland. Winds will be light from the West with an alpine high of -4 and a freezing level up to 1400m. Expect temps to rise slightly over the next few days with the return of the snow forecasted for Thursday.
Snowpack Summary
45cm of storm snow overlies surface hoar or a suncrust that has been found above 1900m up Connaught drainage and in the Asulkan hut area. Deeper in the snowpack is the October melt freeze crust. Snow depths vary from 60cm at Rogers Pass, to 150-170cm in alpine areas.
Avalanche Summary
Numerous sz 2-3 slab avalanches from N and S alpine aspects on Macdonald and Tupper were observed. These ran during the height of the storm on Nov 15th, with several reaching the valley bottom.
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.
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.