At least it looks like winter! We're still in the early stages of our snowpack, so be prepared for variable snow depths and barely buried hazards. Ski slowly and climb carefully.
These are a bit of a long shot, but slabs could form quickly as the shifty wind gusts start and temperatures rise tomorrow around noon.
Slabs are reactive on the basal facets and possibly an intact crust at lower elevations.
Nothing new has been noted in the last couple of days but still lots of older signs of avalanche activity.
In the last 24-36 hours we've had 5-10cm of new snow with minor wind effect. The talk around the forecaster's water cooler today was if there's a new buried crust from the recent heat. It was decided there likely is, but probably only in isolated areas. Steep south and south-west slopes and valley bottom areas will be the most likely places. At this point, its probably a non-issue but that will change as the load increases. Given the dry forecast, its more probable that this crust will facet/rot away and not be an issue. Time will tell. Buried windslabs and a poor base are still on the list of avalanche considerations.
Winds are expected to shift to a northerly flow tomorrow around noon. While not a huge change, there will likely be gusty winds and possibly wind loading as the wind swings around. Temperatures will rise to -3 at 2300m and little to no precipitation is expected. This Ho-Hum pattern will continue for a few days atleast.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
