Cooler temps, light snow and strong winds are on the way. Careful evaluation of the snowpack is advised as it is different at each elevation. We are dealing with the October 17 crust, the Halloween crust and the November 23 crust.
Weather Forecast
Expect 10cm, cooler temps and strong winds for Sunday night going into Monday.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed and lots of evidence of slides from the recent rain event.
Snowpack Summary
5-10cm moist snow overlying 10cm thick Nov 23 raincrust up to 2400m. Above 2400m, approx 50-70cm of dense snow overlying the Oct. 31 crust. Expecting fresh windslabs in lee features and gullies.
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.