Wind slabs will begin to develop rapidly as strong wind will easily transport significant amounts of dry snow.
Plan to avoid area below ridge crests where wind has transported snow.
Increasing wind from initially south and then north will transport very light and low density snow to create new wind slabs in immediate lee areas.
On Thursday near Mount Haig, explosive testing produced one small (size 1.5 ) storm slab avalanche.
Few loose dry avalanches out of steep alpine and treeline terrain were observed in the Elk Valley on Tuesday.
If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you are seeing by submitting a MIN report!
Low density snow and variable strong winds will begin to form wind slabs on all aspects.
Past snow accumulations vary across the region from 10 to 20 cm. The previous southwest wind has formed firm, wind-affected surfaces at upper elevations in the east part of the region, while the surface snow is mostly unconsolidated in the west part of the region.
At lower elevations, the upper snowpack contains a melt-freeze crust and facets layer, particularly in south-facing terrain.
Snowpack depth varies significantly across the region, from 50 to over 150 cm.
Saturday Night
Overcast with light snowfall 1 to 2 cm. 30 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.
Sunday
Cloudy with light snowfall 1 to 2 cm. 10 to 15 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Monday
Cloudy with light flurries 1 cm. 5 to 15 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.
Tuesday
Clearing in the afternoon. 5 to 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
