There's still some good skiing/riding and climbing to be had for those motivated! A field team found good corn snow on S/SE aspects in the alpine ~ noon on Tuesday.
Pockets of windslabs may linger in isolated alpine features. Even small avalanches can have serious consequences in steep terrain.
Windslabs may be found in the immediate lee of features in the alpine. Exercise caution around these features and carefully assess start zones before committing to them.
Over the last few days some small windslabs and sluffs have been triggered in the surface snow in the alpine. On Monday, Lake Louise snow safety reported ski-cutting a few wind slabs in immediate lees of isolated features up to size 1, one of which was 40 cm deep and propagated 15 m.
The recent cool temperatures have decreased the deeper avalanche activity.
A hard surface crust exists on all aspects except for north facing alpine slopes above 2200 m where dry, wind affected snow can be found.
In the mid-pack, the Feb 3 persistent layer (crust/facet layer) remains a feature in the snowpack but has been unreactive with recent colder temperatures. This layer is a greater concern in thick to thin areas.
Wednesday: A low pressure system tracking to the north will bring increasing clouds, scattered flurries, and isolated rain showers with light to mod SW winds. Freezing levels will rise through the day to near 2300 m.
Wednesday night: Light flurries and freezing levels near 1700 m.
Thurs/Friday: Cooler daytime temperatures and accumulations of up to 5-10 mm are possible.
For more detailed weather click here.
