Storm snow from earlier in the week has made the region look better but its still pretty thin going out there. More snow is forecast later in the week which will help build the base up in the region and improve the skiing. Highwood pass saw a small avalanche cycle within the recent storm snow while the Spray road had less activity.
Watch for old pockets of windslabs or storm slabs along ridgelines. Dig down to evaluate the recent HST interface. This layer seems more reactive in the Highwood zone that recieved more snow.
An avalanche cycle occurred on N and E aspects in the Highwood pass region with avalanche up to sz 2. Most of these avalanches failed on the recent storm snow interface but there was also one sz 2 that failed down deeper on the October crust on a N aspect.
Field teams were in the Highwood pass area on Tuesday following the recent upslope storm event. This region saw up to 30cm of snow that fell under the influence of generally light winds while areas along the spray lakes saw less snow (15-20cm). At Highwood pass there was a small avalanche cycle on the storm snow interface down 30-40cm with numerous avalanches up to sz 2 a this interface mainly failing on northern aspects. Further down in the snowpack the October crust is evident and producing hard snowpack results in field tests.
Overall its still pretty thin and despite wanting to make some turns, we more focused on getting down and up and saving our knees.
See image Below.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
