Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Akamina, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East.
Small, isolated wind slabs may remain triggerable at upper elevations.For the best riding, seek out areas of soft snow sheltered from the wind.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
On Thursday, a skier near Castle Mountain accidentally triggered a small size 1 wind slab in a fan feature on a northeast-facing alpine slope. This indicates that triggering wind slabs remains possible on isolated features. Assess your line carefully for wind slabs, especially when traveling in high-consequence terrain.
Snowpack Summary
A dusting of around 3 cm of new snow fell Thursday night. Previous strong to extreme westerly wind has scoured slopes in the alpine and formed wind slabs in leeward terrain.
20 to 40 cm of mostly faceted snow overlies a weak layer from late January. This layer consists of a crust on sun-exposed slopes and a layer of surface hoar on all other aspects.
The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled.
Weather Summary
Friday Night
Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries. 5 to 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -18 °C.
Saturday
A mix of sun and clouds. 15 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -13 °C.
Sunday
Cloudy with flurries up to 3 cm. 5 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.
Monday
A mix of sun and clouds. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -17 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
- Small avalanches can have serious consequences in extreme terrain. Carefully evaluate your line for slabs before you commit to it.
- Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind slab may still be rider triggerable in exposed terrain.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 1.5