The wind is changing the snowpack drastically. Watch for new windslabs where there is still snow. Conservative terrain is a good idea while we wait for the snow to stabilize. See avalanche discussion for recent avalanche activity.
Weather Forecast
Periods of snow starting around noon. 13 cm expected. The winds will continue to howl with SW ridgetop winds over 60km/hr. Daytime highs will be -8, but expect it to feel much colder with the wind. More snow is expected early next week as well as continued high winds.
Avalanche Summary
There were 2 observations today, with one of them being a serious involvement with a party ascending a slope. Details:1)No involvement: Sz 2, S asp, a heavily crossloaded alpine feature that ran quite far. Unsure of trigger, but suspect natural1) Involvement: While boot packing, a party triggered a sz 2, steep gully feature. SW aspect, approx 2650m alpine feature. The failure plain was within the many windslab layers.
Snowpack Summary
Wind! We haven't had any new snow, but we have had plenty of wind blowing existing snow around. Treeline and alpine areas now have widespread wind slabs on all easterly aspects. Given the gusty nature of the wind, expect "laminated" or layered wind slabs with no distinct or predictable failure plain. These short term instabilities will stabilize eventually, but for now they should at the front of your mind. Alpine gullies are especially concerning right now. The halloween crust is still lurking below. The burial depths may will vary with this ongoing wind event .
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.