Recent wind has varied in direction, so watch for slabs on all aspects and in unusual places.
The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.
Reactive wind slabs have been reported on a range of aspects, including lower elevations than usual. Expect the most reactive slabs in immediate lee terrain, such as just below ridgetops.
Limited visibility due to intense snow transport obscured any natural avalanches in alpine terrain. Wind slab was reactive to snowmobile traffic on freshly loaded and cross-loaded southerly features near Pine Pass.
If you are heading into the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations via the Mountain Information Network.
Strong easterly wind has redistributed the recent snow in exposed terrain at treeline and in the alpine. A prominent crust, formed in mid-December, is now buried between 55 and 80 cm below the surface. This hard crust extends up to 1800 m near the Pine Pass area, and up to 2000 m near Highway 16.
In thin snowpack areas, faceted grains or depth hoar may exist at the base of the snowpack. The snowpack depth is around 200-240 cm at treeline.
For recent conditions near Torpy and Pine Pass, check out the MIN from Avalanche Canada North Rockies Field Team.
Wednesday Night
Cloudy. 3 to 5 cm of snow. 50 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -18 °C.
Thursday
Cloudy. Up to 2 cm of snow. 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -16 °C.
Friday
Cloudy. Up to 2 cm of snow. 40 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -20 °C.
Saturday
Partly cloudy. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -18 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
