Avalanches are most likely in open wind affected terrain near ridges.
Strong wind has likely formed unstable snow around ridgetops and open alpine terrain. Be alert to changing conditions as you travel to different elevations and aspects.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Clear skies, 40-70 km/h wind from the west, freezing level dropping to valley bottom with alpine temperatures dropping to -10 C.
MONDAY: Clear in the morning with increasing cloud in the afternoon and isolated flurries bringing up to 5-10 cm of snow with the greatest accumulations on the Alberta side of the divide, light wind from the northwest, alpine temperatures around -10 C.
TUESDAY: Isolated flurries bringing 5-10 cm of snow, light wind from the southeast, alpine temperatures around -14 C.
WEDNESDAY: Flurries with another 10-20 cm of snow, 40-70 km/h wind from the northeast, alpine temperatures around -18 C.
No recent avalanches have been reported, although observations are limited right now. If you see anything while out in the field, please consider sharing that information with us and fellow recreationists via the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
Strong Chinook winds and steady snowfall will continue to form wind slabs in open terrain this week, especially on the Alberta side of the continental divide
There is wide variation in snowpack depths across terrain and throughout the region. In general, 50 to 100 cm of snow may be found in terrain depressions in the alpine, while very little snow exists on exposed terrain features. There is little or no snow below treeline.
There may be a crust near the middle of the snowpack, which could act as a sliding layer for the snow above it. The remainder of the snowpack has been reported to be relatively strong in deeper snowpack areas and weak and soft in shallow snowpack areas.
