Isolated wind slabs in alpine terrain could still be triggered by a skier passing by. Carefully assess steep slopes before committing.
In alpine terrain, there are wind slabs measuring 20 to 50 cm that may still react to the passage of a skier. They are mainly located below ridges, convexities, breaks in the terrain, and in areas loaded laterally at the tree line. However, the general trend is for these slabs to stabilize.
No new avalanches reported or observed.
If you head into the backcountry, thanks for sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
In the alpine and at the tree line, snow cover varies greatly from place to place: the western slopes are mostly bare, while the other slopes have a mix of hard snow and pockets of softer wind slabs.
In areas protected from the wind, 20 to 25 cm of powder snow covers a gradually denser snowpack up to a crust formed on December 20. Under this crust, there is depth hoar and faceted grains.
A thin, brittle layer of rime ice formed at the beginning of the week is now found on the surface east of our forecast area. It does not affect ski quality. In addition, a thin, brittle sun crust is observed on steep south- and southwest-facing slopes.
The average snowpack depth at mid-mountain is approximately 120 cm.
WEATHER FOR THE CHIC-CHOCS RIDGES AND PEAKS
A high-pressure ridge extends from the Appalachians to Labrador, bringing stable, dry, and calm weather to the Chic-Chocs.
Friday evening and night: Partly cloudy. Wind 6 mph from the southeast. Low -16.
Saturday: Partly cloudy. Wind 6 to 10 mph from the north. High -10.
Sunday: Cloudy. Light snow possible overnight. Winds from the northwest at 20 to 50 km/h. High -12.
Monday: Cloudy. Winds from the northwest at 20 to 40 km/h. High -11.
For more details, see the Chic-Chocs alpine weather forecast.
