General Avalanche Information Central Sierra Nevada

Our snowpack is around 1 to 2 feet deep, deepest on NW-N-NE aspects above 8000'.  This past weekend's storm added 6 to 12'' of new snow at higher elevations on top of older and weaker faceted snow.  Recent NE winds have scoured near and above treeline terrain, with some wind exposed areas scoured down to dirt, rocks, and ice crusts.  This has removed most of the areas where a denser wind blown slab could exist on top of the weaker faceted snow near the base of the snowpack.  In some isolated near treeline areas that have not been wind scoured, this combination of stronger and denser wind slab could still exist on top of weaker facets.  

Mostly dry, cold, and clear conditions are forecasted for the next week.  Over time the faceting process is expected to continue within the snowpack, further weakening our snow structure.  This raises concerns for the potential development of more widespread future weak layers.  We will have to continue to monitor how these weak layers change over time as future storm loading events occur.

Early season conditions exist with a shallow snowpack.  Many obstacles are present like rocks, bushes, downed trees, open water, etc.  If you are traveling on snow for recreation, you should come up with a daily plan based on the current conditions and carry your normal backcountry kit including avalanche rescue gear (avalanche transceiver, probe, shovel).

Daily avalanche forecasts are expected to start around December 1.