Widespread wind slabs at tree line and in the alpine. Natural avalanche activity has slowed down but human triggering is still likely.
Sustained winds have begun to expose gravel in the alpine. Treeline winds have been variable which means slabs could be anywhere.
The alpine is still variable in total amounts of snow but the basal layers haven't changed. The entire lower half is either facets, or depth hoar.
No new avalanches were reported but natural activity was still occurring this last weekend. The snowpack is at the point where natural avalanches are possible but human triggered ones are likely.
Presently, there are widespread wind slabs everywhere and on all aspects in the alpine, at tree line and open areas in the trees. This is due to last week's storm that left us with 30-50cm of snow with strong winds from all directions. The avalanche activity from these wind slabs might have slowed downed but still cannot be trusted because they are either sitting on an older pencil wind crust or on top of facets depending where you are. The alpine is still quite variable variable in terms of snow depth. The November facets make up the bottom 50-70cm of the snowpack and there is anywhere from 40-110cm sitting on top of it. Our biggest concern is triggering the wind slab which then has a high potential to produce large avalanches bringing the whole snowpack with it. Good skiing can still be found in low avalanche hazard areas that are either in the trees or were sheltered from the wind. Travel in the forest is still challenging as you are at times still punching through the facets to ground.
The winds will change Monday night from West to 30km/hr from the East. Temperatures on Tuesday will be between -17c to -10c. Expect light flurries during the day.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
