Strong winds moved a lot of snow around today and has created widespread wind effect in all open areas. It feels like it would be easy to trigger a windslab on a loaded slope, so give leeward areas a lot of room over the next few days.
Strong SW wind has been loading lee areas in the alpine and tree line. This, coupled with an additional 10-20 cm of new snow and mild temperatures is creating reactive windslabs in many areas.
The Dec. 2 crust/facets are down 60-100 cm throughout the region. Sporadic activity has occurred mainly in Kootenay, including two explosive triggered avalanches in the Simpson Area on Jan. 10th. Uncertainty remains around this layer.
10-20 cm of new snow combined with strong SW winds transporting snow is creating windslabs down into the treeline. These slabs are sitting on facets, today showed a moderate test results and could be easily skier triggered. The Dec 2 crust/facet interface is down 60-100 cm, and remains a concern below treeline in the Kootenay area.
No new avalanches observed or reported on Tuesday, but several avalanches reported by the Lake Louise ski hill on Monday.
A strong westerly flow is established over BC and AB, delivering warm, moist air across the region combined with strong winds. This pattern is forecast to continue through Wednesday, with another 5-10 cm and strong winds expected. Thursday looks to warm up even further before clearing and cooling on Friday.
