Heavy snowfall in the alpine is piling up on the young, shallow snowpack. Temper your desire to ski bold lines until it has settled. Early season conditions (rocks, stumps, open creeks) lurk at all elevations.
Weather Forecast
Snowfall should taper off today, with freezing levels lowering to 1500m. The next few days should bring scattered flurries and light accumulation to 5cm, moderate westerly winds, and freezing levels hovering around 1300m.
Snowpack Summary
60-70cm of snow in the last 3 days has more than doubled the snowpack depth at treeline. A melt-freeze crust ~15-20cm off the ground is an early layer of concern, especially in the alpine on open, planar slopes.
Avalanche Summary
Several sz 2.5-3 avalanches from Tupper, Macdonald, and Cougar Creek West have traveled onto the avalanche fans, and in some cases to the valley floor. Snow depths below treeline are still very shallow, but slides from up high could possibly affect travelers on the approach trails.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.