Avalanche Forecast

Moderate

The majority of the natural activity following the most recent snowfall has been reported as small loose dry out of very steep terrain on Highway 93N and 93S.

Evidence of a large deep avalanche off of Mount Lefroy North East face was observed on Jan 3rd and is believed to be 24-48 hours old.

The ski areas continue to deal with small, remnant wind slabs up to sz 1.5.

Sunshine had another size 1.5 slab as a result of explosives in a shallow area on the deep persistent weak layer.

Up to 25cm of low-density recent snow overlies a weak, faceted, mid and lower snowpack. Very weak depth hoar and facets associated with remnant crusts are found near the ground. 60-100cm of snow at treeline elevations.

A trough will push east towards the region Saturday evening before the competing high pressure over the prairies pushes back west Sunday.

Winds will increase into the moderate range late Saturday with trace amounts of new snow overnight before winds shift northwest to bring clearing and a bit of cooling through Sunday.

• Avoid thin areas like rocky outcrops where you're most likely to trigger avalanches on deep weak layers.
• Pay attention to the wind; once it starts to blow, sensitive wind slabs are likely to form.