Enjoy the sunshine and powder!
Seek out good riding in sheltered terrain with no wind effect
Be mindful that deep instabilities still exist in the snowpack
Strong westerly winds have built wind slabs on lee slopes at upper elevations. Carefully assess steep areas for potential slabs before committing.
A deep persistent weak layer consisting of weak facets over a crust, remains a concern. The probability of triggering this layer is low, but with high consequences.
No new avalanches have been reported, but observations are extremely limited in the region.
On Dec 21, large, naturally triggered slab avalanches occurred in the North Crowsnest area. These failed on a deep persistent weak layer down 1-2 m, and some stepped down to the ground.
Check out this MIN from our field team.
At upper elevations, strong westerly winds have blown recent snow into wind slabs in leeward areas.
20 to 35 cm of settling storm snow overlies a rain crust from Dec 24th that reached up to treeline elevations in some areas.
A deep persistent weak layer consisting of a prominent crust, with 10 cm of facets on top, is buried 130 to 180 cm deep in terrain above 1800 m. Triggering this layer could have very severe consequences.
Check out this great MIN post from the Crowsnest on recent conditions there.
Sunday Night
Clear skies. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -14 °C.
Monday
Sunny. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.
Tuesday
Sunny. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C, inversion forming with warmer temperatures in the alpine.
Wednesday
Sunny. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
