There is more storm snow in Eastern regions but little change to the hazard overall. Snowpack depths remain highly variable and generally thin. In steep terrain with enough snow depth, watch for slabs sitting over a weak base.
Early Season Conditions persist.
Many places with enough snow to avalanche have a weak layer of basal facets and/or a melt freeze crust at the base of the snowpack. This weak layer has become less sensitive but can still be triggered by people and propgate a significant distance. Use caution in steep loaded terrain.
No new avalanches were reported or observed on Friday.
A couple of notable natural avalanches occurred in the past few days. A size 2.5 avalanche in Redoubt Bowl near Lake Louise slid on the October crust/facet layer, and at the Sunshine ski area, a size 1.5 slab on basal facets was triggered by a small sluff in steep cliffy terrain.
Thursday's storm brought 30 cm in Eastern areas like Norquay, 20 cm in Banff and the Sunshine area, and much less along Hwy 93N and in Yoho. This new snow has formed pockets of deeper snow, and overlies previously wind-scoured alpine and treeline terrain. A melt-freeze crust from recent solar input exists on S and W aspects. The bottom of the snowpack consists of basal facets and/or a buried crust from late Oct. The snowpack is 30-50 cm deep at treeline with 40-80 cm in the alpine.
A weak cold front will slide down the Rockies Saturday bringing isolated flurries to eastern areas. Further west skies will remain mainly sunny. Light to moderate N/NW winds at ridgetop are forecast. Treeline temperatures will be in the -5 to -12°C range with the chance of a slight inversion. This pattern will continue for the next few days.
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