Avalanche Forecast

On Friday our field team observed several small wind slab avalanches that released naturally during the day. These avalanches were on north and east aspects.

Check out their Mountain Information Network report for more details.

At the time of publishing(Saturday afternoon) we haven’t received reports of any other avalanches but we suspect some natural wind slab avalanches could have occurred on Saturday.

Up to 20 cm of snow could accumulate by the end of the day on Sunday. This new snow has been accompanied by moderate to extreme southwest wind likely forming deeper deposits on north and east facing terrain.

A widespread crust exists below this new snow on east and north aspects. On south and west aspects previous warm wind has scoured the snowpack to bare ground, where snow remains the above mentioned crust is likely on the surface.

The snowpack varies greatly in depth from 0 to 30 cm in exposed terrain to nearly 3 meters in wind loaded features on east aspects. In sheltered terrain at 500 m above sea level there is an average of 90 cm.

The mid and lower snowpack is generally well consolidated.

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy with 1 to 4 cm of snow. 40 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind in the north and 20 to 40 km/h in the south . Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Sunday

Cloudy with 0 to 4 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Monday

Mix of sun and cloud with up to 3 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Tuesday

Mostly sunny. 15 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
• Be especially cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
• Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been affected by wind.
• Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.
• Be cautious of buried obstacles, especially below treeline.