Start on small slopes to test how well the recent snow has bonded.
If you find signs of instability, it may not be time to step out to steeper or more complex terrain.
Strong west and southwest wind has redistributed recent storm snow. Avalanches will be most likely on leeward slopes and in cross-loaded features.
On Sunday, several large (size 3) natural wind slab avalanches were reported in alpine terrain. Some may have stepped down to deeper weak layers.
On Saturday, southwest of Valemount, a few large (up to size 3) explosive triggered slab avalanches were reported.
If you are heading into the backcountry, please share any observations with the Mountain Information Network.
Recent snow came with strong westerly wind. Expect to find small pockets of dense, reactive wind slab on leeward slopes.
Below that, 50 to 80 cm of settling snow overlies previously wind-affected surfaces in open terrain and / or a solid melt-freeze crust formed in early February.
A layer of surface hoar, facets, and/or crust from late January is buried around 140 cm. Triggering this layer is unlikely at this time.
The remainder of the snowpack is consolidated with no layers of concern.
Monday Night
Partly cloudy. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 5 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 15 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
Thursday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
