Rapidly changing conditions and the potential for overhead hazard demand a cautious approach to travel.
Forecast warming and precipitation in both the form of rain and snow will rapidly settle new snow and create a new storm slab that overlies a variety of smooth and potentially weak surfaces.
On Thursday near Whistler at 1950m a skier triggered a small (size 1.5) avalanche that was reported in a wind affect area, at a convex roll. This avalanche was reported as a storm slab with wind slab characteristic.
On Tuesday a period of sun and warming triggered numerous small (size 1) small wet loose avalanches, confined to steep south-facing terrain.
If you're heading out into the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations on the MIN.
Up to 30 cm of new snow overlies weak surface hoar and facets and may not be bonding well to old surfaces. A brief period of sun and warming has created a thin crust on steep south-to-west slopes, while wind-exposed features are smooth and hard.
A firm early-November crust lies 30–100 cm down with facets above and below; it isn’t a problem yet but could produce large avalanches with incoming snow. Expect 50–150 cm of snow at treeline and alpine, decreasing rapidly below 1600 m.
Friday Night
Cloudy. 10 to 25 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
Saturday
Cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.
Sunday
Cloudy. 30 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.
Monday
Mostly cloudy. 20 to 35 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
