Winter's Back! However early season hazards like rocks, trees and open creeks are prevalent below 1900m. There's still alot of winter left, ride conservatively out there!
Weather Forecast
Expect mainly cloudy skies today, with minor flurries, light winds at ridge-top, and freezing levels remaining in the valley bottom. Tonight we can expect 2-5 cms and a similar day on Friday. Another storm is lined up to arrive Saturday possibly bringing 20-30 cms and rising freezing levels through the weekend.
Snowpack Summary
30-40cm of new snow covers a thick supportive crust (Nov 13) with a moist near-isothermal snowpack below. Moderate winds have transported this new snow and formed soft slabs in lee features at ridge top. Below 1900m, snow depths are less than 50cm with many early season hazards (rocks, trees & open creeks!) lurking at or just below the surface.
Avalanche Summary
Natural avalanche activity has decreased as temperatures drop yesterday. However with the clearing skies field teams observed avalanches up to size 2 from Mt Macdonald and Mt Cheops that happened Tuesday evening.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.