Up to 35 cm of new snow and southwest winds have formed fresh storm slabs that will be most reactive in wind affected terrain.
Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.
The combination of surface hoar in sheltered areas, and a crust/facet combo everywhere else, makes for a tricky problem to manage. Choose conservative terrain.
Up to 35 cm of new snow and strong southwest winds have formed fresh storm slabs that will be most reactive in wind affected terrain.
On Tuesday, numerous natural and explosive triggered storm slab avalanches up to size 2 were reported at all aspects and elevations.
20-35 cm of new snow and strong southwest winds have formed fresh storm slabs.
Around 50 to 90 cm deep lies a potential weak layer of faceted snow at higher elevations, and surface hoar at lower elevations.
A mid-November melt-freeze crust is buried 60 to 100 cm below the surface at lower-alpine elevations (around 2400 m) and below, but this crust appears to be absent in higher-alpine terrain.
Snowpack depths at treeline range from 90 to 140 cm and decrease rapidly at lower elevations.
Wednesday Night
Mostly clear skies. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Freezing level valley bottom.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy with flurries. 3 to 10 cm of snow. 35 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Freezing level 1100 m.
Friday
Mostly cloudy. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1600 m, dropping to valley bottom.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries. 0-5 cm of snow. 35 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C. Freezing level valley bottom.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
