Avalanche Forecast

On Tuesday, a small (size 1.5) naturally triggered wind slab suspected to be a day old, was observed out of a steep north-facing alpine chute in the Hankin-Evelyn area.

Riders triggered small wind slabs on Sunday. They occurred in the immediate lee side of ridges. Check this MIN for more details.

The potential to trigger similar avalanches will remain as incremental snowfall and continued southerly winds will build fresh wind slabs over the coming days.

Approximately 15 cm of recent snow has been redistributed by southerly winds. This snow sits over old wind-affected surfaces and weak faceted grains and may take longer than usual to bond to the snowpack. Soft snow (and likely the best riding) may be found in areas sheltered from the wind.

In the mid to lower snowpack, two surface hoar layers exist and have become unlikely to trigger. The potential remains for small avalanches to overload these deeper layers triggering a step-down avalanche that could be large and destructive.

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with 2-4 cm of new snow, southwest alpine wind 20 to 35 km/h, treeline temperature low -3°C.

Thursday

A mix of sun and cloud with trace amounts of snow, southwest alpine wind 30 km/h, treeline temperature high -1°C, freezing level rising to 700 m.

Friday

Cloudy with 2-6 cm of new snow, southeast alpine wind 35 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature high -1°C, freezing level rising to 900 m.

Saturday

Cloudy with trace to 2 cm of new snow / or light rain, southwest alpine wind 50 - 60 km/h, treeline temperature high 1°C, freezing level rising to 1300 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
• Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.