Avalanche Forecast

MONDAY NIGHT: Clear skies with no precipitation, 20 km/h northwest wind, alpine temperature -8 C.

TUESDAY: Partly cloudy with no precipitation, 10 km/h west wind, alpine temperature -10 C.

WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 cm, 50 km/h southwest wind, alpine temperature -10 C.

THURSDAY: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 to 10 cm, 50 km/h southwest wind, alpine temperature -6 C.

Storm and wind slab avalanches were triggered naturally and by explosives on Sunday. They were small to large (size 1 to 2) and around 20 to 30 cm deep. At lower elevations, wet loose and wet slab avalanches were observed from rain.

Avalanche activity is anticipated to decrease on Tuesday with cooler and calm weather.

Around 10 to 20 cm of recent snow fell above 1200 m. The snow has been redistributed by strong southwest to northwest wind, forming wind slabs in lee terrain features. The snow may overly surface hoar in areas sheltered from the wind. Below around 1200 m, the precipitation mostly fell as rain, which has frozen into a hard melt-freeze crust.

A weak layer of faceted grains is found about 30 to 60 cm deep, which formed during the cold spell in late December and early January. There is uncertainty in if and when this layer will become an avalanche problem, but until now we haven't seen substantial activity on it.

In thin snowpack areas, the base of the snowpack is composed of weak faceted grains around various melt-freeze crusts, which are considered dormant at this time.

• Be careful as you transition into wind affected terrain.
• Avoid freshly wind loaded terrain features.
• When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.