South Rockies

Assess for wind slab before committing to steep lines.

Westerly wind may have formed wind slabs at higher elevations.

No new avalanches were reported on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, a few natural size 1.5 wind slab avalanches were reported on southeast alpine slopes. See the MIN for details.

If you are headed into the backcountry please consider sharing your observations via the Mountain Information Network.

Ongoing westerly wind has scoured west facing slopes. Small wind slabs may exist on other aspects.

At treeline and below a layer of facets over a crust, from early December, can be found down 40 to 70 cm.

The lower snowpack is generally well-settled.

Treeline snowpack depth varies significantly across the region, from 50 to over 150 cm.

Thursday Night

Mix of cloud and clear sky. 30 to 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy with trace amounts of snow possible. 20 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Sunday

Mix of sun and cloud with trace amounts of snow possible. 10 to 25 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

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.
• Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.