Up to 50 cm of storm snow has fallen so far, and more is expected to come. The avalanche danger will remain elevated on Monday.
Continued reports of avalanche activity, both natural and skier-involved, have come in over the weekend.
Time to dial things back until the new snow has a chance to settle and bond.
Heavy snow and Moderate to Strong winds are producing loose dry avalanches in steep terrain. We received multiple reports of avalanche activity in couloirs on Saturday.
This weekend’s storm deposited up to 50 cm of snow, with the deepest amounts along the divide. The new snow sits on a crust/SH at lower elevations and has been redistributed by moderate to strong winds at upper elevations. Wherever this snow has formed a slab, expect a reactive avalanche problem.
Saturday, two reports of skier-involved avalanches were reported in the forecast region. Both were steep couloirs, and occurred as the storm was ramping up. On Sunday, we received reports of an active natural avalanche cycle in the alpine (limited observations).
Up to 50 cm of new snow over the weekend and moderate to strong SW winds are creating fresh wind slabs in alpine and exposed treeline terrain. Below this, most observations suggest a generally well-settled Rockies snowpack with no significant weak layers. Last week’s warm, wet weather produced a Nov 13 rain crust up to 2300 m. Overall, early-season travel conditions are good, with treeline snow depths of 40–80 cm.
West of the divide, the storm will taper off Sunday night with a clearing trend starting Monday. Colder air follows, with a forecast low of –20 °C on Tuesday. East of the divide, an upslope system may bring up to 10 cm of snow Monday. Variable winds will continue to transport snow at ridge crest for the start of the week.
Click here for Environment Canada links to weather tables for the region.
