Small inputs providing incremental change will eventually bring a tipping point. This could be forecasted snow and strong to extreme winds late Monday or Tuesday. Storm snow has refreshed the ski quality, but early-season hazards still exist.
Isolated wind slabs exist in high alpine lee features. Forecasted extreme wind on Tuesday will redistribute the recent storm snow and create fresh wind-slabs.
New snow and some wind have created conditions for loose dry avalanches. These conditions will be especially prevalent in steep rocky terrain. Be mindful of terrain traps where small avalanches can create a big problem.
In most areas the base of the snowpack consists of weak facets and depth hoar. Avalanche activity on this layer has been minimal but the consequenses of triggering it remain serious. Use caution in steep terrain or on planar slopes where failures in these basal facets are more likely to propagate.
Lake Louise patrol reported one explosive controlled size 1.5 loose dry avalanche. Dry snow from cliffs hit the slope and entrained facets. The Visitor Safety field team reported very little avalanche activity except for one size 1 loose dry avalanche from some cliffs.
There was a skier accidental avalanche size 1.5 near the Lake Louise ski area yesterday. Little information is available other than what is written in the report.
5-20 cm of storm snow and light wind have caused some sluffing and small wind slabs in exposed alpine and treeline areas. This new snow sits on a variety of surfaces (sun crusts, surface hoar, old wind slab) at treeline and above.
The mid-pack contains a couple of rain crusts which can be found as high as 2350 m in southern areas.
The base of the snowpack consists of a mix of weak facets and depth hoar.
Treeline snow depths range from 60-100 cm.
The temperature is expected to be about -18 at the ridge and -12 in the valley on Mon. Little snow is expected, however, some light accumulations are expected on Tues (+/- 5cm). The wind will switch back to a westerly flow with increased velocity in the strong range on Mon. The wind is forecasted to be extreme on Tues.
For more information, click Mountain Weather Forecast.
