Pretty good skiing out there right now, but getting to it can be an exercise! Below treeline travel is still pretty rugged. Sluffing will be a concern in confined areas, avoid those features for atleast another day.
Weather Forecast
4 cm of additional snow expected overnight. A mix of sun and cloud tomorrow with no snow. -19 overnight, with a day time high of -10. Ridge winds will be light with variable direction.
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new today, but suspect some isolated wind slabs up to sz 1 in the alpine.
Snowpack Summary
Another 5cm overnight brings our recent storm totals to 20-25cm at treeline. In wind prone areas at treeline, we're seeing a small, yet dense wind slab form. So far this is a minor concern, however it will become more significant with the increasing winds. The crusts are all present, and in various states of decay. In some places they are still intact, and in others they have broken down. The alpine elevations saw moderate winds from all directions today. New windslabs will be present on most aspects as the winds shift to the east. 120cm of snow at treeline & the Nov 27th crust was down 40cm.
Problems
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.
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.