The Winter Permit System started on Nov 16! Get your permit and know what areas are open before you venture into the backcountry.
Early season conditions dictate a cautious approach to the slopes. Slow down, enjoy the walk up, and ease up on your speed on the downhill journey!
Basal facets are more likely to be triggered in shallow, rocky areas, such as ridge-crests and open, convex slopes. A bridging crust exists below Treeline, preventing folks from sinking to the ground at lower elevations.
On Friday, we observed a notable large slab avalanche, which failed in the weak basal snowpack, on the West face of Cheops, as well as a few small loose dry avalanches from steep North facing terrain.
Artillery control on Thursday (for gun sight verification), produced 2 large loose snow avalanches in the steep North facing terrain on Mt MacDonald.
"Whumphing" has been reported recently, common when basal facets get overloaded and then collapse.
Basal sugary facets have been found at Treeline/Alpine elevations. These facets offer little support to a young snowpack, often collapsing and producing loud "whumphing" sounds. Snow depth increases with elevation, but expect many rocks/trees lurking at and just below the snow surface.
Saturday is forecast to be relatively calm and sunny. On Sunday, a weak frontal system will bring increased winds and moderate snowfall to the area.
Detailed weather forecasts can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
