Good quality skiing reported in the forecast area! Get at it before the wind does!Remember, triggering is possible so continue to choose carefully!
Weather Forecast
The daily diurnal cycle of temperature fluctuations resembles a heart rate monitor (-15 overnight to -3 in the day and back again) and will continue for the next couple of days until we get into a more steady seasonally cold trend. Potentially a bit more precip and moderate wind as we lead into the weekend. Let's hope for an early Christmas dump!
Snowpack Summary
Very nice tightening up of the snow pack! Hard and Moderate low quality shears within the mid-pack are helping forecasters blood pressure drop back to normal levels. Isolated wind slabs still exist in open areas at tree line and alpine elevations. The deeper instabilities are the most susceptible to human triggering from shallow areas.
Avalanche Summary
Natural activity has slowed down but there is plenty of evidence of large deep slides in wind loaded features that have released in the last cycle.
Confidence
Due to the quality of field observations
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.