Early season avalanches can be particularly nasty as rocks, deadfall, stumps are lurking just below the snow's surface. Even a small avalanche that pulls you over a cliff, into a terrain trap or crevasse would have high consequences!
Weather Forecast
Today we'll see a weak occluded front passing through Rogers Pass as a low-pressure system tries to battle its way onshore from the Pacific. The Freezing Level will rise to 1800m, we should see 5-10cm of new snow in the alpine and moderate winds from the SW. The next real precipitation isn't expected until next week.
Snowpack Summary
At TL in sheltered locations, we have approx 20-30cm of low-density snow overlying the Halloween crust. This crust sits on 50-70cm of rounds/mixed forms which cover the earlier October crusts and the snowpack is approx 90cm. The alpine was blown out by last week's strong Northerly winds, leaving behind a variety of challenging surface conditions.
Avalanche Summary
Yesterday two natural wind slab avalanches were observed in the HWY corridor off Mt Mcdonald on steep terrain to size 1.5. No other natural or rider triggered avalanches have been reported recently.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations
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.