Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
Spring days are here, with good conditions on north facing slopes. Sun exposed slopes have been cooked and the ski quality is not great; the crust needs time before it gets thicker and corn snow starts to form. Get up and go early to beat the heat!
Weather Forecast
The ridge of high pressure responsible for the sunny skies will remain anchored over BC and AB for one more day; Thursday looks to be beautiful: clear, no precipitation, light winds and temperatures from 0 to -6. Freezing levels will reach 2000m in some areas. Starting Friday the weather will change, as clouds roll in and rain/snow begins mid-day.
Snowpack Summary
On north aspects, 15-20 of loose facets overlies strong melt-freeze crusts up to 2300m. All other aspects have sun crust in the morning and moist snow in the afternoon, also overlying a strong melt-freeze crust just below the surface. This buried crust provides a bridge over the facets which continue to remain dormant at the base of the snowpack.
Avalanche Summary
As of 2:00 pm on Wednesday, no significant avalanches have been observe or reported. This time of year there is often avalanche activity in the late afternoon when the sun is most intense on S and W aspects.
Problems
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.