Cold temps and sunshine for the forecast area. Be careful near solar aspect rock faces where the sun will have the most effect on the surrounding snow and loose rocks.
Weather Forecast
Expecting a moderate cooling trend and clear skies overnight. Temperatures are expected to dip into the negative high teens for the Icefields area for tomorrow and should bring cold temps, gloriously clear skies and sunshine.
Snowpack Summary
The clear skies and light winds that we've enjoyed have also helped to develop surface hoar at all elevations. An overall shallow snowpack sits on 10-20cm of basal facets. Previous wind slabs provide bridging strength to the snowpack above treeline and into the alpine. Extensive scouring in the high alpine.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed. We did observe a minor rockfall event on a south aspect rock face on Saturday afternoon; the end result of melting ice and free water on the face.
Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.