Snow and wind is forecasted to start tomorrow and continue into Friday. If the storm arrives, expect the hazard to rise by tomorrow evening.
Confidence
Moderate - Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain
Weather Forecast
It seems we have a storm working its way towards us. Forecasts vary, but we're expecting anywhere from 10-20cm in the next 48 hours. Strong alpine winds will accompany the storm for its entire length. Treeline elevations will have gusts into the moderate (about 40km/hr) range. Temps will be steady at about -5.
Avalanche Summary
Only some minor sluffing and spindrift was noted today.
Snowpack Summary
On average we've had 5cm of new snow in the last 24hrs. Alpine winds blew most of it around, but probably didn't form much of a wind slab just yet. It did cause some minor sluffing though. The crusts within the snow pack are very evident when traveling. The first is only down 5-10cm and the Oct 26 in basically on, or near the ground. It is thick and still intact.
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.