Wind slabs are reactive at higher elevations. Pay attention to changes in snow conditions and avoid areas where the snow feels stiff or slabby.
Confidence
Moderate - Freezing levels are uncertain on Wednesday
Weather Forecast
TUESDAY: Alpine sun and valley cloud, light northwest wind, alpine temperatures warming to -5 C.WEDNESDAY: Sunny with valley cloud, light wind, inversion forming with alpine temperatures possibly reaching above 0 C.THURSDAY: Sunny with valley cloud, light wind, inversion with freezing level up to 3000 m.
Avalanche Summary
Avalanche activity following last week's storms has tapered off. Numerous size 1-2 human-triggered storm slab avalanches were reported on Saturday, but activity on Sunday was mostly limited to size 1 wind slabs triggered by ski cutting on steep convex rolls. A notable avalanche was triggered on Saturday west of Revelstoke, where a ski cut propagated down to the late November crust and produced a size 2.5 avalanche. Large avalanches running on this crust may become a concern later this week when temperatures rise.
Snowpack Summary
Snow from last week's storms is settling and getting redistributed into fresh wind slabs by northwest winds. Roughly 30-70 cm of recent snow sits above various crusts from the warm weather in late November. Most reports suggest the snow is bonding to the crusts so far, but there's potential for this layer to develop into a problem in the future. Snow depths decrease rapidly below treeline, where the primary hazards are rocks, stumps, and open creeks.
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.