Watch for recent windslabs along ridgelines and in alpine areas.
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number and quality of field observations
Weather Forecast
No new snow in the forecast for the next few days and skies are forecast to clear as a surface ridge begins to move into the region. Temperatures on Sunday will be more season with daytime highs around -5C and winds beginning in the day in the moderate range out of the SW then easing off by mid-day. Expect the mornings to be cool with the clear skies and our first surface hoar layer to begin to develop.
Avalanche Summary
A few loose dry slides were observed from steeper alpine areas. Also, pockets of winslabs up to sz 1.5 were observed along ridgelines and in bowls that had katabatic downflow wind affect from last Friday nights cool temperatures.
Snowpack Summary
No new snow has fallen in the past 24hrs and the previous storm snow (up to 30cm) is beginning to settle. In Alpine areas, windslabs up to 15cm thick were being observed iin areas where wind affected. Winds didnt seem to punish the snowpack as much as usual and a few loose dry slides were also observed. There are two crusts in the snowpack to be aware and curious about. The Oct 26th crust 20-40cm off the ground and the Nov 4th crust 40-50cm off the ground. These crusts are being found on all aspects but limitied field observations so far this season has us still figuring out the elevation that it extends up to.
Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.
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.