Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Wind speed and direction is uncertain

Saturday: Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries / Light southwesterly winds / High of -15 C.Sunday: Cloudy with flurries / Light to moderate southwesterly winds / High of -17 C.Monday: Mix of sun and cloud / Light northwesterly winds / High of -16 C.

No recent avalanche observations have been reported in this region.

Up to 30 cm of recent storm snow has buried old snow surfaces including surface hoar and old, stiff wind slabs. The cold temperatures will have promoted surface faceting, which probably means the top layer of snow is soft in most places. Treeline snow depths around Elkford are only around 60 cm. I suspect they are slightly higher in places like the Flathead, but generally conditions are lean. Threshold snow depths for avalanches have been exceeded in the alpine and at treeline, but not below treeline. In shallow areas, the snowpack is most likely facetted (sugary) throughout, and any crusts have probably broken down already. In deeper areas, you can probably find the mid-November crust buried under half a metre or so of snow.