While skiing and riding conditions are excellent, the snowpack remains capable of producing large avalanches.
Careful terrain selection is critical - manage your exposure to steep slopes that have not previously avalanched.
Continued new snow and wind will produce wind slabs on leeward features.
If you encounter wind slabs or have other observations to share, we'd love to hear about it in the MIN.
The March 20 crust is buried 20-60cm and producing sudden planar results in tests. The Jan 24 facets are 80 to 120cm deep and were active in the recent cycle. Dig down to investigate how these layers are adjusting to the new load. Slopes that have not released naturally should be treated with caution.
Snowy weather has limited alpine observations for the past two days.
On March 27, Parks Canada staff observed a natural size 3 persistent slab from a Lectern sub-peak running full path, and a size 2 cornice fall in the Churchill Range.
There is still widespread evidence of the previous large avalanche cycle, with some debris exceeding historical runouts.
Over 130 cm of new snow (135mm water) has fallen along the Icefields Parkway this March, with 30-50 cm at Maligne. Westerly winds are redistributing this snow, with wind slab development in exposed areas. Below this, a crust from the mid-March atmospheric river exists up to 2300 m. A weak facet/crust layer is buried 70-170 cm. The midpack is well consolidated with facets near the ground. Average snow depths for the Icefields are 160-240 cm, and Maligne is 80-140 cm.
Light flurries will continue overnight and through Monday, adding 5cm to the 15 cm that has fallen over the weekend. Temperatures in the alpine will rise to -8 during the day while light winds shift to the North West. Monday and Tuesday will be mostly cloudy, receiving a trace of new snow with West winds and seasonal temperatures.
