Winter has officially arrived! The new snow we received this week is light and adhering well to the old snow surface. There may be pockets of windslab at the upper elevations. Winds were out of the N-NE Thursday and will transition to W on Friday. Conditions are variable throughout the area so be sure to assess the conditions and play it safe! Early season conditions exists so watch for rocks, logs, brush and baby trees hiding beneath the surface!!!
The winds were out of the N-NE yesterday and will transition to SW by Saturday. Windloaded slopes could be easily triggered, so be aware of cornice development and cracking. By the weekend windslabs may form on all aspects as the wind shifts directions and becomes stronger.
The amount of new snow we received Thursday varies from 1-2" in the Purcells to 9" (SWE=0.5") in the Keeler/Bear Mountain area. The temperature has remained cold, so the snow is light and could easily sluff off on steep slopes and gullies.
Snowpack observations in the Keeler area on Thursday revealed multiple graupel layers in the upper 2 feet of the snowpack. It may be possible to trigger a soft slab avalanche in steep terrain on these different layers.
Winter has officially arrived! We have received another round of light, fluffy snow this week and it appears to be bonding well to the old snow layers. The snowpack is variable across the zone ranging from 20-30" in the Purcells to 40-55" in the Cabinets. The snowpack is right side up, meaning light snow on top and denser snow towards the bottom, which makes for a good strong base going into the season. There may be pockets of windslab on leeward slopes at the upper elevations that could be easily triggered. There are some density changes and graupel layers in the most recent storm snow layer, which could produce soft slab avalanches at the upper elevations. Overall the snow pack is bonding well, but be sure to assess the snowpack where you are riding as conditions are variable throughout the area. Prepare for Snowmaggedon! The forecast calls for 1-2 feet of snow Saturday-Sunday with moderate to strong winds out of the West-Southwest (20-30 mph) so windslabs are likely to develop on E-NE aspects. We expect the avalanche hazard to rise to CONSIDERABLE and possibly even HIGH if we get walloped with snow!
Early season conditions exist so watch for rocks, logs, trees and brush hiding just below the surface! Happy riding!
