Avalanche Forecast

Good

No new snow expected over the next 24hrs. Winds are forecast to be light out of the south and temperatures around -8C at treeline during the middle of the day. Cloudy conditions will persist and visibility into alpine areas will be limited.

1 size 3 Na on a steep (40-45deg) NE aspect at 2800 near Black Prince. 300m wide, up to 1.5m deep failing in the storm snow layers, as well as stepping down to the Valentines day crust as well as ground in some of the steeper rocky areas. 1 size 3 Na on a N aspect on the Rundle bowls above the Canmore Nordic Center. Slide ran full path, stopping at the end of its historical trim lines. No other information available on this due to limited visibility. 2 other size 2 avalanches were also observed on N and E aspects at 2600m. Both of these slides occurred in steeper unsupported terrain failing within the storm snow and stepping down to the Valentines day interface.

An additional 20cm of new snow fell overnight. Over the past 72hrs, up to 50cm of new snow has fallen under the influence of a light to moderate SW flow. The Valentines day surface hoar layer is now buried down up to 160cm and is becoming more stubborn to trigger. Propagation saw tests are showing that if this layer is triggered it will propagate across a terrain feature but it is becoming less reactive to light loads such as a skier. On solar aspects the March 10th temperature crust is down 50-60cm on solar aspects. A thin layer of weak facetted crystals is developing on top of this crust and the bond between the new snow and the underlying crust should be carefully evaluated. Any avalanche initiated in the upper snowpack will likely step down to the Valentines day interface so skiers should keep this on their mind as they travel.