Crowsnest North

Remain cautious in wind-affected terrain at upper elevations.

Wind slabs have been reactive in the region.

Moderate

• Uncertainty is due to limitations in the field data.

On Saturday, a large wind slab—possibly triggered by a cornice fall—was reported near Gladstone Mountain in the southern part of the region.

On Friday, explosive control triggered a size 2 wind slab out of a lee crossloaded slope in the alpine.

Looking forward, wind slabs may remain reactive to human triggering on Sunday.

Strong winds have developed wind slabs in lee and cross-loaded features at upper elevations. In parts of the region, a weak surface hoar layer may be buried around 40 cm down.

The mid-snowpack is well consolidated, with a thick melt-freeze crust present at treeline and below, but generally absent in the alpine.

Near the bottom of the snowpack, a crust with facets is considered unlikely to trigger, except with large loads or in thin snowpack areas.

Saturday Night
Partly cloudy. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C with a possible temperature inversion. Freezing level around 1500 m.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level rising to 1700 m.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 0 to 5 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level around 2000 m.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 0 to 2 mm of rain at treeline. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level rising to 2700 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
• Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
• Surface hoar distribution is highly variable. Avoid generalizing your observations.