Avalanche Forecast

On Wednesday, west of Golden, small, touchy windslab avalanches were reported. They were triggered remotely from 20 meters away, by skiers skinning along a ridge.

On Tuesday, near Invermere, three natural very large (size 3) storm slab avalanches on south east aspects at 2700 m have been reported. These avalanches had significant debris and in some places had scrubbed to ground and are suspect to have failed on the late November deep persistent slab . Explosive control work conducted near Golden produced three storm slab avalanches, these varied in size from small (size 1) to large (size 2). To the west of the region near the Bugaboos, notable very large (size 4) naturally occurring avalanches have been reported on large north facing alpine bowls that went wall to wall and ran peak to creek.

In the alpine, 15-30 cm of recent snow fell with moderate to strong southwest wind, forming windslabs in leeward terrain.

At treeline, the recent snow is likely to be denser, shallower, and moist or refrozen.

Below treeline, expect to find moist or refrozen surfaces, and shrinking snowpack depths.

The mid snowpack is generally settled and strong, although west of Invermere, some professional operations are still monitoring a layer of weak, feathery surface hoar crystals that was buried in mid January.

The lower snowpack includes a widespread layer of large, weak facets and/or depth hoar crystals. This weak layer has been responsible for several very large and destructive avalanches throughout the season, including one last Thursday.

Unsettled and convective weather could bring brief but intense periods of snowfall. Pinpointing these localized events creates a high level of uncertainty with this weather forecast. Prepare to continually evaluate the conditions, and change plans as necessary.

Thursday Night

Mostly clear. No new snow expected. Freezing level falls to valley bottom. Treeline low around -6°C. Light northwest ridgetop wind.

Friday

Partly cloudy. No new snow expected. Freezing level rising to 1700m. Treeline high around -3°C. Light variable ridgetop wind.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy. No new snow expected. Freezing level at valley bottom overnight rising to 2000 m. Light southeast or southwest ridgetop wind.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy. Possible trace of snow expected. Freezing level at 1300 m overnight rising to 2100 m. Moderate SW wind in the high alpine.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Be especially cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.
• Be alert to conditions that change with aspect and elevation.
• Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
• Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.