North Rockies

Be cautious of stiff wind slabs on a crust at ridgetops and rollovers.

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Monday

Mostly clear skies. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.
• Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.

No new avalanches were reported on Saturday or Sunday.

On Friday, numerous small wet loose avalanches were reported from slopes facing the sun.

Our North Rockies field team reported a small (size 1) rider-triggered wind slab avalanche that occurred on Thursday. Northeast aspect at treeline. See photos. This is a typical example of the type of avalanche that is expected to linger.

Surface hoar is growing on all aspects at all elevations up to 12 mm, even on ridgetops.

South through west aspects are stripped down to a thick crust that formed early in February. This crust exists at all elevations. On north through east aspects you will likely find old wind slabs over this crust. Due to recent cold temperatures, weak sugary snow crystals are forming under these wind slabs, which means they may be more likely to slide on the crust.

In treeline terrain that is sheltered from the wind, 15 to 25 cm of settled snow sits above the crust.