Weak snow lies buried in the snowpack on all aspects and elevations. Although slab avalanches are not expected to release naturally, they continue to be sensitive to riders and skiers. An initial report has come in that a party of 3 was caught in an avalanche yesterday in Willow Creek. The report is that two people, who were completely buried, were successfully rescued by the other member of the party who was partially buried. This was a serious incident that could have had dire consequences. Similar events could happen today. Conditions are dangerous and conservative decision making is a must today.
Soft to hard slabs lie over weak snow layers and can be easily triggered today by a single person on a slope, even after a slope has been tracked. Slab depths could reach 3 feet at the higher elevations and 18 inches at the lower elevations.
Cold and mostly dry conditions through the middle of November caused the upper portion of the snowpack to turn into weak, faceted snow at all elevations. This persistant and problematic snow layer can found at all evations and can even be mixed with crusts on high south facing slopes. In addition to the near miss in Willow Creek, reports were submitted of remotely triggered slabs as well as many occurrances of widespread collapse.
