South Rockies

Warm air temperatures with strong afternoon sun may destabilize the upper snowpack on south-facing slopes. Use extra caution on sun exposed slopes during the afternoon.

Fair - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain

Warm and sunny is the theme for the next 3 days. On Sunday, mainly sunny conditions are expected with freezing levels reaching around 2000m. Alpine winds are expected to be moderate from the NW. On Monday, mainly sunny conditions are expected with freezing levels reaching upwards of 2500m. Alpine winds are again expected to be moderate from the NW. Conditions are currently forecast to be the same on Tuesday morning with increasing cloudiness during the afternoon.

On Saturday, wet sluffing was reported from steep sun exposed slopes in the Lizard range. Similar conditions are expected on Sunday.  Human-triggering of old wind slabs also remains possible in isolated areas.

In sheltered areas, up to 10 cm of snow from earlier in the week sits over a previously variable snow surface which was a mix of surface hoar, crusts, wind affected surfaces, and/or dry powder. Ongoing winds have redistributed the new snow in wind-exposed terrain resulting in a highly variable snow surface and the formation of thin wind slabs in leeward features. The most prominent snowpack feature is a thick supportive crust around 10-30 cm below the surface. It extends up to around 2200m elevation. Below this elevation the crust is effectively capping the snowpack, preventing riders from stressing deeper persistent weak layers. In alpine areas where the crust is not present or is less thick, it could still be possible to trigger a deep avalanche from rocky sun-exposed slopes, thin snowpack areas, or with a heavy load (i.e. cornice fall).