Avalanche Forecast

A small storm slab was triggered by a skier on an east aspect in the alpine in the Howson Range yesterday.

Otherwise, avalanche activity over the past week has been limited to small wet loose avalanches and cornice falls during periods of warm, sunny weather.

In the alpine, up to 20cm of new snow has fallen on a melt-freeze crust on sunny slopes, or over cold snow on shady slopes.

In most areas at treeline you will find only a trace of new snow over a crust.

This new snow may have been redistributed by northwest and southwest winds, building wind slabs on lee slopes in isolated areas.

The middle of the snowpack is strong and contains numerous hard crusts. Near the ground, weak faceted crystals exist. There hasn't been avalanche activity on this layer recently, but it remains on our radar as it may become active with abrupt changes to the snowpack, such as rapid loading (heavy snowfall or rain) or prolonged warming.

Sunday night

Partly cloudy, no precipitation, moderate northwest wind, overnight low around -10 °C with freezing level at valley bottom.

Monday

Mostly cloudy, flurries with trace accumulations, moderate northwest wind, freezing levels rising to 1000m throughout the day, treeline temperatures reaching 0 °C.

Tuesday

Mix of sun and cloud, no precipitation, light northwest wind, freezing levels rising to 1100m throughout the day, treeline temperatures reaching 1 °C.

Wednesday

Mix of sun and cloud, flurries with trace accumulations, moderate northwest wind, treeline temperatures around -5 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.
• Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
• Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.