South Rockies

Avalanches are possible on steep, rocky, and wind-affected slopes due to wind slabs and buried weak layers.

Observations are limited with a few size size 1 slab and loose avalanches reported on Friday.

Most areas received 15 cm of new snow in the past few days, with 20+ cm in southern parts of the region near Castle Mountain and Waterton. This snow has likely formed wind slabs on lee aspects at treeline and above.

Approximately 40 to 50 cm of snow sits on a crust, except on high-elevation north and east-facing slopes.

A persistent weak layer of surface hoar or facets from late January is buried 50 to 100 cm deep. It is most likely to be triggered on steep, rocky, convex slopes on northerly and easterly aspects at treeline and above.

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy with 0 to 1 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Sunday

Cloudy with 0 to 1 cm of snow. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Monday

Cloudy with 5 cm of snow switching to rain in the afternoon. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2400 m.

Tuesday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 mm of rain and partly clearing skies in the afternoon. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature +3 °C. Freezing level 2600 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
• Use small, low consequence slopes to test the bond of the new snow.