The surface crust lowers the risk of triggering an avalanche but makes travel more difficult.
Watch out for small wind slabs that could form on top of this crust after the light snowfall that’s expected.
Depending on the amount of snow received Wednesday night into Thursday, small wind slabs may form below alpine ridgelines. These could rest on a melt-freeze crust, which may provide an excellent sliding surface.
No new avalanche observed or reported.
If you are heading into the backcountry, please share your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
In alpine areas and at the treeline, a breakable crust on the surface — present up to around 750 m — makes travel difficult. Beneath this layer, an ice crust lies 10 to 15 cm deep, just above a very firm surface formed during the mid-March thaw. This stacking of crusts complicates movement.
The middle of the snowpack consists of alternating well-settled snow and melt-freeze crusts.
At higher elevations, east- and southeast-facing slopes have better snow coverage, while north-facing aspects are more scoured. At mid-mountain, snow depth ranges from 60 to 180 cm.
Additional few centimeters of snow expected by Thursday morning.
Wednesday evening and overnight: Cloudy. Light snow, 1 to 3 cm. West wind at 40 to 60 km/h. Low of -11 °C.
Thursday: Intermittent light snow, ending in the morning. West winds at 30 to 50 km/h. High of -3 °C. Freezing level at 450 m.
Friday: Sunny. Light west wind. High of +4 °C. Freezing level at 850 m.
Saturday: Mix of sun and cloud. Light southwest wind. High of +7 °C. Freezing level at 1200 m.
For more details, read the Chic-Chocs alpine weather forecast.
