Ice climbers be aware of exposure to solar aspects with sunny skies and warmer weather on its way.
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number and quality of field observations
Weather Forecast
Looking like sunny skies and warmer temperatures for the remainder of the week. Tuesday is forecast to bring alpine temperatures of -4c with light westerly winds.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been observed.
Snowpack Summary
The recent storm snow (up to 30cm) is settling and starting to see surface hoar crystals growing. In alpine areas, wind slabs up to 15cm thick are predominant in lee features and cross loaded gullies. There are two crusts in the snowpack to be aware and curious about. The Oct 26th crust 10cm off the ground and the Nov 4th crust 40-50cm off the ground. These crusts are being found on all aspects but limited 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.