Avalanche Forecast
Regions: East Kakwa, Kakwa, McBride, McGregor, North Rockies, Pine Pass, Renshaw, Sugarbowl, Tumbler.
Stormy conditions continue, leading to the formation of reactive slabs. Seek out low-elevation terrain that is less impacted by the strong alpine winds.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
While no avalanche activity has been reported, we expect a natural avalanche cycle to be occurring, particularly in regions receiving higher snowfall amounts.
Observations remain very limited this early in the season. If you head into the backcountry, please post to the Mountain Information Network
Snowpack Summary
New snow continues to form reactive wind and storm slabs at the surface. The recent snow has buried a variety of surfaces, including old wind-affected surfaces, along with a chance of surface hoar in wind-sheltered terrain or lower elevations.
A crust formed in early November may be present in the mid-snowpack, with possible faceted crystals above or below it.
The lower snowpack is largely comprised of several old melt-freeze crusts and potentially large depth hoar crystals in some areas.
Snowpack depth at treeline is roughly 100 to 150 cm, with snow depths decreasing rapidly at lower elevations.
Weather Summary
Friday Night
Cloudy with 2 to 10 cm of snow. 10 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.
Saturday
Cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Monday
Mostly cloudy with some local areas to the north forecast to receive as much as 30 cm of snow, with only a trace elsewhere. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C.-
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Watch for fresh storm slabs building throughout the day.
- As the storm slab problem worsens, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.
- Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the old surface.
- Be cautious of buried obstacles, especially below treeline.
Avalanche Problems
Storm Slabs
New snow continues to accumulate, resulting in reactive storm and wind slabs. In wind-sheltered terrain, recent storm snow may be settling into a reactive slab where overlaying a layer of surface hoar.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Likely - Very Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2