Lingering wind slabs are scattered around the alpine while rugged early season conditions prevail at lower elevations.
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
Saturday night: Cloudy with clear periods and light to moderate west winds.Sunday: Mainly cloudy. Light to moderate west winds. Alpine high temperatures around -5.Monday: Mainly cloudy. Moderate to strong southwest winds, increasing overnight. Alpine high temperatures around 0 as freezing levels jump to a possible 2500 metres.Tuesday: Cloudy with isolated wet flurries and a trace to 5 cm of new snow at highest elevations. Light rain below about 1800 metres. Alpine high temperatures around 0 with freezing levels remaining near 2200 metres.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported in the region. A Mountain Information Network post from Monday details a large (size 2) skier-triggered wind slab in a steeper wind-loaded feature in the alpine in the Mause Creek area in the west of the region. The slab had a depth of 25-40 cm and featured a 50 m wide crown fracture line.
Snowpack Summary
Light snowfall over Thursday buried a widespread layer of weak, feathery surface hoar crystals with about 5-10 cm of new snow. Below the surface hoar, the new snow has also buried pockets of recently reactive wind slab in wind-exposed terrain at treeline and above. This wind-affected layer sits above a mixed layer of late-October and early-November melt-freeze crusts and facets found at the base of the snowpack at treeline and above. Snowpack depths taper quickly as elevation decreases and snow depths below treeline generally remain below threshold depth for avalanching. Travel conditions in many areas at treeline and below continue to be rugged.
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.