Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Friday: 4-8cm of new snow / Moderate to strong southwest winds / Freezing level at 900mSaturday: Light flurries / Light and variable winds / Freezing level at 400mSunday: Mix of sun and cloud / Light and variable winds / Freezing level at valley bottom with alpine temperatures dropping to about -1

On Tuesday and Wednesday explosives control in the north of the region triggered a few storm slabs in the size 2-2.5 range in north-facing alpine terrain. On Tuesday in the Dogtooth range a skier was accidentally caught in a size 2 storm slab on a northwest facing slope at 2350m. The skier was uninjured in the avalanche which was about 40cm deep and 180m long..We currently have very limited observations in this region. Please submit your observations to the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Last week, the November 23rd crust formed as temperatures cooled and the rain-soaked snow surface froze. Since then, 20-60cm of snow has fallen at treeline and above with moderate to strong southwest winds, creating wind slabs sitting on a crust. Two other layers have been reported in the snowpack: 1) The Halloween crust (down 100cm at treeline elevations) and 2) The November 10th surface hoar / facets (down 80cm at treeline elevations). We have very little information on how reactive these layers are. In fact, we currently have very limited snowpack observations within this entire region and it is critical to supplement this information with your own observations.The depth of the snowpack varies greatly with elevation. Recent reports suggest the average depth is 150+cm in the alpine, 100-150cm at treeline, and decreasing rapidly below treeline where the primary hazards are rocks, stumps, and open creeks.