Watch for small solar triggered loose dry avalanches in steep terrain where direct sun grazes dry snow for the first time.
Loose dry avalanches are likely where the sun touches dry snow for the first time. You may also find small pockets of triggerable storm slab near ridgetops.
A crust/facet layer sits near the base of the snowpack. It is surrounded by weak crystals and produces hard results in snowpack tests. In shallow, rocky areas in the alpine, it may remain at a depth triggerable by humans. Last week a natural cornice fall triggered a size 3 avalanche on this layer proving it's still a player. With the cooling temperatures and hardening snowpack, we don't think we will see avalanche activity on it at the moment, but it's definitely still on the radar.
Friday night: Isolated flurries, moderate northerly ridgetop wind, freezing level valley bottom.
Saturday: Sunny, light variable ridgetop wind, alpine high -2C, freezing level 500 m.
Sunday: Sun and cloud, moderate southwest ridgetop wind, alpine high -6C, freezing level 500 m.
Monday: Sun and cloud, light to moderate southwest wind, alpine high -5C, freezing level 600 m.
Since Wednesday, natural avalanche activity has been limited to loose dry sluffs of diminishing size.
A widespread natural cycle occurred during the storm Monday night through Tuesday, storm slabs size 2-3 and loose wet size 1-2.
On Tuesday December 1, a large size 3 natural avalanche was observed on a NE aspect at 2400 m in the Duffy area. It was reported as a cornice failure triggering the slope below and appeared to have slid on the early November crust near the base of the snowpack.
Have you been out and about in the mountains? If so please submit your observations to the Mountain Information Network (MIN). It doesn't have to be technical - photos are especially helpful! Thank you so much for all the great MINs submitted so far!
