Spring conditions have arrived. Start and end your day early. Monitor the degree of overnight re-freeze to gauge the increasing hazard from morning to afternoons.
Up to 20cm of snow fell last week in the alpine. It was blown around into wind slabs mainly by North winds. Use caution as their is potential for isolated pockets of windslab.
Cornices have been growing all winter, many are enormous, and are now ripe for failure with rising temperatures and warm sun impacts. They are large triggers for slopes below plus their sheer mass would hurt. Give them a wide berth.
Field team on the Athabasca Glacier observed a large active serac fall with an impressive powder cloud which made it a fair distance across the flats and likely close to the regular Columbia Icefield ski route. Some other activity was noted on Friday with large avalanches in the Stutfield basin, a wind slab on Mt Wilson, and a serac collapse from below the Normal Ramp route on Mt Athabasca.
Isolated pockets of windslab can be found in alpine locations from localized winds. Melt-freeze crusts exist on all aspects other than North alpine. The snowpack at treeline and below is wet below a surface crust. High, North slopes have remained cool and have a dry, winter-like snowpack.
Monday night will be clear skies, -3 °C, light winds and valley bottom freezing level. Tuesday could be a mixed bag of clouds, sun, flurries, 1 °C, light winds, and 2400 metres freezing level. Wednesday and Thursday will generally bring a mix of sun and cloud, -2 to 5 °C, and potentially 3000m freezing level. Expect wet flurries on Friday.
