North Rockies

Strong westerly winds are expected to form fresh, reactive wind slabs. Watch for deposition near ridgelines and also in midslope features, further downslope than typical.

Moderate

• Uncertainty is due to the speed, direction, or duration of the wind and its effect on the snowpack.
• Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.

No new avalanches have been reported in the past 5 days.

If you are heading into the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations via the Mountain Information Network

Strong westerly winds have likely redistributed recent snow into deeper deposits on north and east facing slopes at higher elevations.

A prominent crust, formed in mid-December, is now buried 60 to 100 cm deep. This crust extends up to 1800 m near the Pine Pass area.

In thin snowpack areas, faceted grains or depth hoar may exist at the base of the snowpack.

Sunday Night
Cloudy. 1 to 5 cm of snow. 80 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Monday
Cloudy. 1 to 2 cm of snow. 80 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 2 to 25 cm of snow. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 10 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind-exposed terrain.
• 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.