Avalanche Forecast

Friday night: Cloudy with isolated flurries and starry breaks. West-southwest winds, 30-45 km/hr. Alpine temperature low -9 C. Freezing dropping to valley bottom overnight.

Saturday: Cloudy with sunny breaks and late afternoon flurries. Southwest winds, 35-55 km/hr. Alpine temperature high -3 C. Freezing level 1500 m and rising into the evening.

Sunday: Wet flurries and rain, 10-40 mm. Southwest winds, 40-60 gusting to 90 km/hr. Alpine temperature high +3 C. Freezing level rising above 2000 m.

Monday: Mostly cloudy, isolated flurries, and sunny breaks, 5-10. Southwest winds 20-30 km/hr. Alpine temperature high 0 C. Freezing level 2000 m and dropping.

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.

Wind is impacting 5-20 cm of recent snowfall, fresh wind slabs have formed over a variety of previously 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.
• Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.