Avalanche Forecast

Riders triggered many small (size 1) storm slabs on Monday within the recent 10 to 20 cm of storm snow. Otherwise, loose dry sluffing was noted in steep terrain, running fast and far.

Looking forward, the primary concern is new snow that overlies surface hoar and/or hard surfaces that formed last week. As the snow accumulates and forms slabs, they will likely become touchy to human traffic. There's uncertainty on when exactly this will happen so travelling conservatively and making observations as you travel will be key.

Around 10 to 30 cm of snow has accumulated since Sunday. This snow overlies large (10 to 20 mm) and weak surface hoar crystals in shaded wind-sheltered terrain, wind affected snow in wind-exposed terrain, and a hard melt-freeze crust on sun-exposed slopes. The wind was predominantly from the north to east on the weekend but it is switching to the southwest, meaning wind slabs may be found on all aspects.

Another layer of surface hoar and/or weak faceted grains may be found about 40 cm, particularly on shaded aspects.

The remainder of the snowpack is generally strong.

Tuesday Night

Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 to 15 cm, 30 km/h south wind, treeline temperature -8 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 cm, 40 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperature -5 °C, freezing level 500 m.

Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 to 10 cm, 40 km/h south wind, treeline temperature -5 °C, freezing level 800 m.

Partly cloudy, 30 km/h southeast wind, treeline temperature -2 °C, freezing level 1100 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Watch for fresh storm slabs building throughout the day.
• Be aware of the potential for larger than expected storm slabs due to the presence of buried surface hoar.
• Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
• Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.