Avalanche Forecast

Saturday night: Up to 5 cm snow turning to rain at lower elevations. Southwest winds building to strong. Alpine temperature around -2 C. Freezing level rising to 2500 m by morning.

Sunday: Wet flurries and rain, 5-10 mm in most areas with local enhancements possible up to 20 mm. Strong southwest wind gusting extreme. Alpine temperature high 0 C. Freezing level dropping 2500 to 2000 m.

Monday: Flurries, clearing late in the afternoon. Moderate southwest wind. Alpine temperature high 0 C. Freezing level 2000 m.

Tuesday: Isolated flurries. Moderate southwest wind. Alpine temperature high 0 C. Freezing level 1800 m.

On Thursday, forecasters in neighboring Kananaskis Country reported a size 1.5 wind slab avalanche which failed naturally on a NW aspect around 2200 m. Although outside the South Rockies, we have a similar snowpack in our region and may see similar avalanche characteristics.

Reports in the region remain limited. If you go out in the mountains, please post your observations and/or photos to the Mountain Information Network! 

New snow arriving Sunday in the alpine is expected to fall warm, sticky and windswept. At lower elevations, a mix of wet snow and rain falls on wind-affected surfaces. Expect to find anything from bare rock to dense wind slab along ridgelines and in open terrain.

Two crusts are found in the snowpack: the mid-November rain crust buried 20-30 cm and reported up to 2100 m, and a crust from early November found at the bottom of the snowpack up to 2300 m, this crust is being to break down and facet.

Snowpack depths range from 40-150 cm at treeline elevations. Higher elevations may hold a deeper snowpack, but also be more heavily impacted from recent winds. Snowpack depths decrease rapidly below 1900 m.

Early season hazards are very real right now, be wary of thin/shallow snowpacks, rocks, stumps, creeks, and other sharks hidden under fresh snow.

• Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and wind exposure.
• Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
• The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
• Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.