North Rockies

Look out for freshly wind-loaded terrain features - they are the most likely places to trigger an avalanche.

Low

• Recent weather patterns have resulted in a high degree of snowpack variability within the region.
• Uncertainty is due to the extreme variability of wind effect on the snowpack.

On Friday, explosive control work near Pine Pass produced size 2-3 wind slabs on reverse-loaded south to southwest aspects in the alpine. Evidence of previous natural activity during the storm was also observed up to size 3.

Wind is redistributing 30 to 60 cm of recent storm snow over a crust that extends up to 1800 min the Pine Pass area, and up to 2000 m near highway 16.

A layer of surface hoar, facets and/or a crust may be found buried around 100 cm deep. This layer has been observed to be gaining strength and is now even less likely to be triggered where bridged by the recent crust.

In thin snowpack areas, faceted grains or depth hoar may exist at the base of the snowpack.

Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy. 5 cm of snow. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 5 cm of snow. 50 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -19 °C.

Monday
Mix of sun and clouds. 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -22 °C.

Tuesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 5 cm of snow. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -16 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Recent wind has varied in direction, so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
• Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
• Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been affected by wind.