A shift to cold, windy weather should reduce avalanche danger, but cornices remain a hazard in alpine terrain.
Cornices have been weakened by recent warmth and may grow with incoming snow and wind. Use extra caution near alpine ridges.
No significant new avalanches have been reported in several days. A few large slab avalanches were seen west of Valemount on Thursday, but they likely occurred earlier. Small wind slabs were observed earlier this week.
Friday's warm sunny weather likely triggered some wet loose avalanches and cornice falls.
Looking ahead, the weather trend suggests avalanche activity is unlikely, but confidence is low due to limited observations.
Variable surface conditions are expected as the weather shifts from sun and 3000 m freezing levels to colder, windier conditions. Wet surfaces will refreeze into a crust, then receive 5 to 10 cm of wind-affected snow.
Most terrain has undergone strong melt-freeze cycles. However, the snowpack may still be complex on north-facing alpine slopes, where deeply buried weak layers (50 to 200 cm) could be triggered by a large cornice fall.
Friday Night
Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level drops from 3000 m to valley bottom.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy with 0 to 1 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.
Sunday
Mix of sun and cloud with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
Monday
Mix of sun and cloud with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
