Fresh snow will continue to accumulate today, building new storm slabs and hiding old wind loaded features. Plan your trip with sheltered terrain in mind.
Fresh snow and southwest winds will continue to build new and sensitive slabs deepest on north and east facing slopes. Watch for wind loading mid to low on slopes, and be wary of cross-loaded features.
Older wind slabs will sit below recent storm snow, they may still be trigger-able by riders.
A layer of large, weak facets exists at the base of the snowpack. Avoid shallow snowpack areas like thin and rocky start zones and areas with variable snow depths. Human triggering is more likely here.
Human triggered wind slabs were reported to size 1 on Sunday, along with consistent sluffing of loose snow from steep terrain features.
Backcountry users may see evidence of a small natural wind slab avalanche cycle at higher elevations from recent winds and fresh snow.
Please post your field observations and photos on the Mountain Information Network. The information is beneficial to forecasters and fellow backcountry users.
Up to 15 cm of storm snow sits on wind affected surfaces at all elevations. Deeper deposits may be found in north and east facing terrain features due to southwest winds.
The mid-snowpack is generally well settled, with a thick melt freeze crust and no current layers of concern.
The lower snowpack includes a layer of weak sugary crystals and crusts near the ground. These facets are slowly gaining strength and have not produced recent avalanche activity. We continue to track the layer and watch for any signs that it could wake up and produce very large avalanches.
Monday Night
Cloudy with flurries, 2-4 cm. Light to moderate southwest winds. Freezing levels at valley bottom.
Tuesday
Mainly cloudy with light snowfall, 5-10 cm favoring Fernie and southern terrain. Moderate southwest winds. Freezing levels around 500 m. Alpine high of -6 °C.
Wednesday
Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Moderate westerly winds. Alpine high of -5 °C. Freezing levels 700 m.
Thursday
Cloudy with around 5 cm overnight and 10 cm over the day. Strong southwest winds. Alpine highs of -6°C, freezing levels around 1000 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
