Good travel conditions, but the snowpack is still thin, so lots of early season hazards and thin spots exist. Check our
weather stations to get current alpine temperatures as the alpine has been warmer than the valley bottoms lately.
Weather Forecast
The high pressure ridge will dominate the region until at least Thursday. Temperatures will remain inverted with above freezing temperatures in the alpine and cooler temperatures at the valley bottoms. On Friday, the ridge starts to break down and we should see increasing west winds, seasonal temperatures and maybe even some light precip!
Snowpack Summary
Surface hoar is growing in sheltered locations at tree-line. Sun crusts, surface faceting and wind effect exist on various aspects in the alpine. 15-40 cm of snow lies over the Nov 27th and Nov 23rd crusts. Both of these now overly the Halloween crust/facet layer that sits 30-50cm above the ground.
Avalanche Summary
Despite the inversion creating warm temperatures in the alpine, only a few very small loose wet avalanches in the alpine have been observed over the last few days. These were in steep rocky terrain that was in the sun, and sheltered from the wind. Where observed, these did not trigger larger avalanches.