Carefully assess steep slopes for wind slab before committing. Wind slabs are poorly bonded to the underlying crust and will likely remain reactive to riders.
Small wind slabs reactive to skier triggering are present on leeward slopes. They are particularly sensitive since they rest on hard or even icy surfaces, which provide poor bonding. Strong winds appear to be forming wind slabs lower down in the slopes, with thicknesses ranging from 5 to 40 cm.
The field team triggered a small size 1 avalanche on Monday while performing a ski cut on an east-facing slope at treeline. A video of the event is available on our social media.
If you head into the backcountry, thanks for sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
In the alpine and at treeline, a wide range of surface conditions is present, ranging from icy surfaces and hard snow to newly formed wind slabs. West-facing slopes are very scoured.
Below treeline, moist snow is present at the surface down to about 50 cm. Numerous melt-freeze crusts are also found within the snowpack, caused by rain that has percolated through the snowpack.
At mid-elevation, the average snowpack depth is around 110 cm.
WEATHER FOR THE CHIC-CHOCS RIDGES AND PEAKS
A low pressure system passes north of the Chic Chocs Monday night. Strong winds and light rain are expected this evening followed by a cooling trend as the cold front passes.
Monday Evening and Night: Cloudy tonight and then clearing early in the morning. 1 to 2 mm of rain. 70 km/h southwest ridge top tonight switching to 40 km/h west in the early morning. Freezing level rising to 1700 m and then falling to 600 m in the early morning. Minimum -2°C.
Tuesday: Mix of sun and cloud. 20 to 40 km/h west ridge top wind. Treeline temperature -3°C.
Wednesday: Cloudy. 2 to 4 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. High of -8°C at treeline.
Thursday: Cloudy. 15 cm of snow. 40 to 70 km/h southeast ridge top wind in the morning becoming light in the afternoon. High of -6°C at treeline.
For more details, see the Chic-Chocs alpine weather forecast.
