Keep your head up as you gain elevation and exposure to the wind. As new snow stacks up, more reactive slabs will be in areas influenced by wind.
Up to 30 cm snow is forecast to accumulate through Friday with moderate to strong winds. The most reactive deposits will be around ridgelines and in lee terrain. Low freezing levels will allow snow to accumulate at below treeline elevations.
Thursday might: Flurries and snow, 5-20 cm accumulating by Friday morning. Southwest winds, 30-40 km/hr. Alpine temperature low -4 C. Freezing level 1000 m.
Friday: Cloudy with isolated flurries, trace to 10 cm. Southwest winds, 20-40 km/hr. Alpine temperature high -1 C. Freezing level 1400 m.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with flurries starting during the day. Southwest winds 10-20 km/hr. Alpine temperature high -2 C. Freezing level 1400 m and rising.
Sunday: Wet snow and rain, 10-40 mm. Southwest winds gusting to 10-25 km/hr. Alpine temperature high +2 C. Freezing level spiking above 2300 m.
On Wednesday, November 24 explosives triggered a few large (size 2) stubborn wind slabs in lee-loaded terrain around 2300 m. Note we have very few field observations this early in the season.
New snow overnight and into Friday will accumulate over recent settling snow. The mid-November crust is down 20-35 cm and up to 10 cm thick. At the bottom of the snowpack, up to 20 cm of facetted snow may be found.
Snowpack depths at treeline range from 40-100 cm, with alpine depths exceeding 150 cm in areas. Below 1700 m, snowpack depths decrease rapidly.
Early season hazards are very real right now, be wary of thin/shallow snowpacks, rocks, stumps, creeks, and other sharks hidden fresh snow.
