Conditions remain largely unchanged with Low danger and stable snow almost everywhere, except in the occasional shallow snow spot where we have seen two skier-triggered avalanches occur over the past week - both in Extreme terrain with rock bands and wind-drifted snow creating variability in the snow depth.
This Avalanche Problem is only a "problem" in thin snowpack areas, mainly on the east side of Hwy 93 & Hwy 1, where facets persist near the ground. Triggering is unlikely, but the problem is inherently uncertain and may still be triggered in isolated, steep terrain with a thin-to-thick snowpack.
No new avalanches have been observed or reported on Monday.
Extensive wind effect exists in the alpine, with some surface faceting helping to break down crusts and create softer skiing. In sheltered areas at treeline and below, widespread surface hoar was buried by a few centimetres on Saturday and is now the Jan 24 layer. A deeper surface hoar layer lies 50–60 cm down, but there have been no recent avalanches. Basal crust and/or facets exist in thin snowpack areas, but overall, this year's deeper snowpack is stronger than usual.
Little change in the forecast for the next few days. We will see a slight, gradual warming of temperatures, with little to no precipitation and moderate westerly ridge winds. In the long-range forecast, some snow accumulation is expected starting Friday.
Click here for an Alberta Rockies weather forecast made by Environment Canada
