Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Akamina, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East, Elkford West, South Rockies.
Strong wind has whipped the new snow into wind slabs that are further downslope than normal.
Seek out sheltered terrain, it'll be the best riding and the safest.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
A rider accidentally triggered a small wind slab below treeline near Window Mountain on Sunday. The wind slab had formed further downslope than normal.
On Saturday explosive triggered wind slab avalanches up to size 3, failing on the crust layer, were reported in the south.
Snowpack Summary
New snow is being redistributed by moderate to strong southwest wind developing wind slabs over various layers of wind-affected snow, soft snow, and a thick rain crust. In sheltered spots, expect 20 to 40 cm over the crust.
Below this crust, the shallow faceted snowpack is generally well consolidated. There are two crust layers, one in the midpack and another near the base of the snowpack, that have been unreactive.
Weather Summary
Sunday Night
Cloudy with 0 to 7 cm of snow. 25 to 35 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Monday
Cloudy. 15 to 35 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 0 to 10 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.
Wednesday
Mostly clear skies. 10 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Avoid freshly wind loaded terrain features.
- Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
20 to 40 cm of light, dry snow is being carried by the southwest wind into reactive wind slabs at all elevations. They may form further down slope than normal, even half way down.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, North West.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 3