Wind slabs that have formed since Friday morning lie in very steep terrain at the upper elevations. These slabs lie upon surface hoar and faceted snow on most aspects. Although relatively small in size, these could be triggered by skiers, riders, or hikers. Once triggered, they could knock someone off of their feet and carry them through hazardous terrain features such as rocks and cliffs. Don't let early season enthusiasm affect good judgment and avoid steep, rocky areas. Avalanches are unlikely in the shallow, heavy snow at mid-elevations and low elevations lack sufficient coverage for avalanche activity.
Soft to hard wind slabs with depths to 18 inches could be triggered in very steep wind-loaded avalanche starting zones above 9000'.
(11/5/2022)
The storm that started Friday morning brought nearly two and a half inches of moisture and over 20 inches of snow to some areas of the Tetons. The precipitation occurred with both increasing temperatures and winds. Yesterday morning the warm and windy conditions caused riming to occur on even heated wind instruments. Averages are estimated to have been near forty miles per hour with gusts in the upper sixties. Generally this laid down a heavy layer of snow that is beneficial during the early season as it covers ground hazards quickly and forms a stable base layer. Although this heavy snow fell on a shallow and settled snowpack, that snowpack was topped with faceted snow including surface hoar at high elavations on most aspects. Wind formed slabs could fail on this interface in very steep, high elevation terrain. The layer buried on November 4th will require respect and monitoring as additional snowfall occurs although the lack of a hard bedsurface near this layer may keep it from being a persistent problem. Check out the observations posted from yesterday.
