Watch for wind slabs as you travel into steep or open terrain.
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
TUESDAY NIGHT: Clear with cloudy periods, light northeast wind, alpine temperatures drop to -15 C.WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries, trace accumulations, 20-40 km/h southeast wind, alpine high temperatures near -12 C.THURSDAY: Scattered flurries easing throughout the day with 5-10 cm of snow, 50-70 km/h southwest wind, alpine high temperatures near -6 C.FRIDAY: Cloudy with sunny breaks and isolated flurries, 40-60 km/h southwest wind, alpine high temperatures near -10 C.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were reported on Tuesday. One small (size 1) slab and a few loose dry avalanches were triggered in steep terrain on Monday. A few size 1 wind slab avalanches were triggered by skiers over the weekend.
Snowpack Summary
Cold temperatures have been transforming most of the snowpack into soft faceted snow, with the exception alpine terrain where hard wind slabs can be found. In deep snowpack areas, you may find a slab sitting above a layer of facets and surface hoar that was buried in mid-January and is now 30-60 cm deep. The layer is most prominent in the Elk Valley between 1600 m and 1900 m, but no recent avalanche activity has been reported on this layer.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.