Aspect: All aspects and below terrain features

Elevation: Mainly Treeline and above

New snow this week was about 6-14″ with strong SE winds Wednesday night! The wind calmed down and changed from SE-E to N-NW on Thursday. And intensified Friday with northerly outflow.

• The bottom line is that sensitive surface wind slabs from moderate NW winds will be most likely for human trigger. Older, more stubborn wind slabs from strong SE winds on Wednesday will be possible, but more difficult to trigger. This reverse loading event makes route finding through safe terrain in the alpine tricky.
• Look for active wind loading and fresh wind slab, cross-loading and top-loading.
• Remember that even small slopes with big consequences, like terrain traps, can be hazardous.

Identify wind-drifted snow by looking for stiff or hollow surface snow, and looking for cracking, whumphing, natural avalanches, and or active wind loading – treat these areas as highly suspect. Probe for strong over weak layering, the recipe for an avalanche. You can find safer conditions in wind-protected areas with softer snow. 

Below 2,000ft warmer temps Nov. 25th caused a crust to form that has been observed in test pits. It has been buried by snowfall and wind loading over the past week. Cold temperatures will weaken this buried crust.

Confidence: Low-Moderate

Elevation: Between 2,500ft to 4,000ft

Look and listen for deep whumping! Report any natural avalanche activity on this layer!

One or more rain crusts from mid-October are now near the bottom of the snowpack in all zones. Weak snow above and below a crust may cause strong stubborn snow above it to fail and produce sizeable avalanche that could bury, injure or kill. Keep in mind a lot of new snow has fallen in the last 2 weeks adding stress to this layer. It will be possible to trigger an avalanche on this layer, 1 meter or deeper. We expect this October rain crust will be a lasting problem, so keep your guard up! This layer exists on all aspects, but observations are limited and uncertainty is high.

• What is the best way to manage this risk? We can simply avoid alpine terrain that is about 30 degrees and steeper. Be aware that venturing on these steeper alpine slopes is relatively high risk currently. Persistent slabs require a wide safety buffer.
• Another way to reduce your exposure to these deep weak layers would be to stick to areas of deeper snowpack (>1m deep). But be wary of hidden rocks that can act as trigger points, and thin areas around the margins of a slab.