Be cautious as you enter wind-affected terrain. Newly formed wind slabs are expected to bond poorly to the underlying crust.
Friday's northeast wind and 5-15 cm of new snow are expected to have formed small but reactive wind slabs most likely found on southwest-facing slopes. Wind slabs may bond poorly to the underlying crust.
Up to 15 cm of low-density new snow overlies wind affected surfaces in the alpine and a sun crust on solar slopes.
The mid-snowpack is generally well settled. The lower snowpack includes a layer of weak sugary crystals near the ground. These facets are slowly gaining strength and have not produced recent avalanche activity. We continue to track the layer and watch for any signs that it could wake up and produce very large avalanches.
On Wednesday, numerous size 1 loose dry avalanches were observed in the alpine. These avalanches were triggered by solar input during the day.
On Thursday, explosive control targeting cornices produced size 1-1.5 avalanches that did not pull slabs on the slopes below.
On Friday, fresh wind slab formation was observed as moderate to strong northeast wind redistributed the surface snow into immediate lees, as seen in this MIN report from the Fernie area.
Friday night
Mainly cloudy with flurries, 2-8 cm of accumulation. Alpine temperatures drop to a low of -13 °C. Ridge wind light from the northeast. Freezing level at valley bottom.
Saturday
A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. Alpine temperatures reach a high of -5 °C. Ridge wind light from the southwest. Freezing level rises to 600 meters.
Sunday
A mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperature reach a high of -2 °C. Ridge wind 15 to 45 km/h from the southwest. Freezing level rises to 1300 meters.
Monday
Cloudy with mixed precipitation, 10-15 cm of new snow accumulation at higher elevations. Alpine temperatures reach a high of 2 °C. Ridge wind 30 to 60 km/h from the southwest Freezing level rises to 1800 meters.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
