It still possible to trigger an avalanche where previously formed hard slabs overlie a weak base. An avalanche involvement in this early season shallow snowpack would certainly be unpleasant.
Weather Forecast
Mainly sunny for the next several days with generally light winds. Temperatures are expected to be fairly typical for this time of year with highs between -4 and -8 for a couple of days, before warming slightly towards the end of the week.
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new today.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 5cm of new snow fell Saturday night through to Sunday morning. Unfortunately this did little to improve the snowpack. For the rest of the snowpack.....hmmmm. Where to start? Lets mix it up and start with alpine windslabs. These are widespread in distribution, but the density will vary with exposure to wind. Expect harder slabs in gullies and immediate lee areas. Next, we'll tackle treeline windslabs. Like the alpine, these will be found near ridges and gullies, but expect them to quickly fade as you move away from the treeline/alpine border. Lastly, lets chat about the Oct 26 layer. This is widespread, but its condition seems to vary from area to area. In some places it is complete garbage- a collection of facets and depth hoar waiting to crumble. In others, it's still intact and even supportive. The bottom line? Dig to check it out.
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.
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.