Avalanche Forecast

Saturday night: Flurries bringing 5-10 cm. 30-50 km/h southwest wind. Freezing level 2000 m. Alpine temperatures around -5 C.

Sunday: Scattered flurries with up to 10 cm of snow in most areas and upwards of 20 cm in hot spots along the central west border of the region like the Bugaboos. 40-60 km/h southwest wind, Freezing level 1800 m. Alpine temperatures around -5 C.

Monday: Another 5-10 cm of snow by the morning then cloudy with isolated flurries during the day. 20 km/h northwest wind. Freezing level valley bottom. Alpine temperatures around-12.

Tuesday: Mix of sun and cloud. 20 km/h northwest wind. Freezing level 1500 m. Alpine temperatures around-8.

No new avalanches have been reported since Thursday. Recent avalanche activity has been limited to small (size 1-1.5) wind slab avalanches, dry loose sluffs, and cornice falls. These have occurred on a range of aspects, and will continue to be possible on wind-loaded or sun-exposed slopes.

5-20 cm of snow accumulates over isolated wind slabs, soft dry snow on shady sheltered slopes and moist and crusty surfaces on sun exposed slopes. A widespread crust layer from the mid-March warm spell can be found 20-50 cm deep, and small surface hoar has been observed at this depth on some isolated north-facing slopes. Reports suggest the snow is generally well bonded to these layers. Deeper layers are strong and have been unreactive over the past few weeks.

• Fresh wind slabs will likely form throughout the day, diligently watch for changing conditions.
• Avoid freshly wind loaded features, especially near ridge crests, roll-overs and in steep terrain.
• Dial back your terrain choices if you are seeing more than 25cm of new snow.
• The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.