Stormy weather returns, increasing wind and snowfall will increase the danger rating at all elevations.
Old wind slabs on north aspect terrain continue to remain a concern. New wind slabs will begin to form as new snowfall and sustained south west wind is expected.
Avalanche Canada field teams ski cutting on Friday afternoon produced a few small (size 1 ) avalanches on a north aspect convex roll feature at 1600 meters. These avalanches failed on the old hard surfaces and encompassed up to 25cm of the recent storm snow.
Continue to support your backcountry community and please consider submitting a MIN report, Your information sharing is vital.
Expected up to 25cm over Saturday and Sunday that will begin to cover the upper elevations surfaces that have been exposed to sustained strong to extreme north wind. These surfaces are generally very hard and in many places the snow has been stripped to the ground. In sheltered areas at treeline, surfaces have been faceting and becoming unconsolidated at the surface. In the upper snowpack at this elevation a layer of surface hoar crystals can be found down 20 to 30 cm and has not been an active layer of concern.
Generally, the snowpack is shallow and highly variable in terms of depth, with the mid and lower snowpack presenting as settled and dense.
A cold arctic air mass over the region will continue to bring to the forecast area. gusty outflow winds and extremely cold temperatures. A series of weather systems are expected to deliver up to 25 cm of new snow over the weekend. A rise in temperature and freezing level is excepted with ridgetop temperatures rising to -10˚C.
Friday night
Overcast sky, Snow 1-5cm. Southwesterly wind building to 80 km/h. Temperatures steady around -18˚C.
Saturday
Snow 5-10 cm. Southwest wind 50 to 80 km/h at ridge tops. High of -12˚C.
Sunday
Snow 1-5 cm. Southwest wind 60 to 80 km/h at ridge tops. High of -6˚C.
Monday
Snow trace amounts. Southwest wind 60 km/h at ridge tops. High of -6˚C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
