Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended on Monday.
The new storm snow is not bonding well to old surfaces. Human-triggered avalanches are very likely. Stick to conservative terrain.
Weak layers remain a concern in high, north-facing terrain where snowpack depth is variable. These layers are still adjusting to the new snow load and may be reactive to human-triggering.
Up to 70 cm of storm snow and strong winds have built reactive storm slabs at all elevations. Back off if you encounter signs of instability like whumpfing, shooting cracks or recent avalanches.
On Sunday, explosives control produced several storm slab avalanches up to size 3.5.
If you are headed to the backcountry, please consider sharing your photos and observations from your day on the Mountain Information Network.
Up to 70 cm of storm snow blankets the region. Strong southwest winds have redistributed storm snow into deep pockets on lee slopes at the ridgeline. Storm snow covers a crust on all aspects except on high north facing terrain, where new snow buries 5 cm of snow overlying a crust from earlier in March. This second crust likely doesn’t exist above 2100 m.
A layer of facets and surface hoar from mid February can be found down around 90 to 110 cm.
Another layer of facets and surface hoar from late January can be found down 110 to 150 cm.
The lower snowpack contains several crusts that are not concerning.
Check out this great MIN with snowpack observations from the Joffre area.
Sunday Night
Partly cloudy with light flurries, 1 to 3 cm of snow. 15 to 25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Freezing level drops to valley bottom.
Monday
Cloudy with light flurries, 1 to 2 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Freezing level around 1000 m.
Tuesday
Partly cloudy with light flurries, 1 to 2 cm of snow. 10 to 25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C. Freezing level around 1300 m.
Wednesday
Partly cloudy with light flurries, 2 to 9 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level around 1300 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
