There have been many close calls with avalanches this week.
The avalanche danger remains elevated, please plan your objective accordingly.
Reactive windslabs are prevalent in alpine and treeline terrain which may overly facets. In some circumstances these have been enough to initiate deeper layers in the snowpack.
The Dec 2 crust and facets down 60-90cm have become more active in the region. If initiated, they can produce large avalanches. With recent warm temperatures we have seen a increase in avalanche activity on this layer across the forecast region.
This past week, 2 significant skier triggered avalanches occurred on the Dec 2 persistent problem. Some larger avalanches have stepped down to deeper instabilities. Saturday Parks Canada VS responded to a natural avalanche on Mt Stephen that deposited a significant amount of snow on a train line and trapped a train in the debris pile.
The Westerly flow will gradually weaken through the beginning of the week. Winds for Sunday and Monday will remain in the strong range at ridge top. Temperatures will stay warm with freezing levels near valley bottom. Forecasted precipe values range from 10cm to 20cm . We should see a sharp change Tuesday as cold, clear, calm weather arrives.
10-15cm of settled storm snow with strong winds over Saturday have added to windslabs at treeline and above. These overlie facets in many places, producing moderate test results. The Dec. 2 crust and facets are generally 60-90cm deep in the snowpack. Some thin snowpack areas have lingering basal depth hoar and facets.
