Recent warm temperatures raised freezing levels to around 2800m. With a cooling trend forecasted for the coming week, expect a widespread melt-freeze crust to form on the snowpack surface, leading to challenging skiing conditions.
A variety of crusts with facets above and below exist at the bottom of the snowpack. These layers are going to be with us for a long time and pose a low probability, high consequence situation if triggered.
Numerous solar triggered Loose Wet avalanches, initiating in steep south to west facing features in the alpine, were observed in the Icefields area on Jan 27. Several of these triggered slabs that ran on a deeper crust and were up to size 2.
Two size two Deep Persistent Slab avalanches, in previously uncontrolled alpine terrain, were triggered by explosives at Marmot Basin on Jan 26.
A variety of surface conditions exist depending on location, including melt freeze crusts, sun crusts, hard wind slabs, and soft faceted snow. These overlie a generally weak and faceted mid-pack. At the bottom of the snowpack are the early season crusts, which are faceting and surrounded by large depth hoar. The snowpack is 70-130 cm in depth at tree line, and thins quickly below.
Wednesday
Mainly cloudy.
Precipitation: Nil.
Alpine temperature: High -11 °C.
Ridge wind southwest: 20 km/h.
Freezing level at valley bottom.
Thursday
Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries.
Precipitation: Trace.
Alpine temperature: Low -13 °C, High -10 °C.
Ridge wind southwest: 15-25 km/h.
Freezing level at valley bottom.
