Where there is enough dry snow for the riding to be good, human-triggered avalanches remain likely.
Be careful not to let the post-storm sunshine lure you away from conservative terrain.
New snow amounts vary significantly across the region, with up to 30 cm falling Friday around Kakwa and McBride. Watch for signs of instability anywhere that you aren't finding a strong surface crust.
A natural avalanche cycle started on Monday and continued into Thursday. The reported avalanches have been large to very large (as big as size 4). These avalanches have been a mix of slab and loose, dry and wet.
Looking forward, we expect natural and human-triggered avalanches to become less likely as the temperatures drop.
Recent snowfall amounts throughout the region have been variable; 5-25 cm of new snow on Friday brings the totals to 25-60 cm of settling storm snow. Rain saturated the upper snowpack at and below treeline last week, with moist surface snow reaching as high as 2000 m in the alpine for some parts of the region. Now that temperatures are dropping, expect to find a new crust buried under Friday's snow everywhere but the high alpine.
A thick crust buried earlier in March can be found down 50 to 80 cm at treeline and below.
The early February crust can be found down 100-160 cm.
The remainder of the snowpack is well settled and bonded.
Friday Night
Partly cloudy. 2 to 4 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Saturday
Mostly sunny. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.
Sunday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 4 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
Monday
Mix of sun and clouds. 2 to 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
