South Rockies

Wind slab avalanches are possible at upper elevations. Pay attention to changing conditions with elevation and aspect.

THURSDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with isolated flurries bringing trace amounts of snow, moderate wind from the southwest with gusts to 70 km/h, treeline temperatures drop to -6 with freezing level dropping to 1000 m.

FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy with some very light flurries and some sunny breaks, moderate wind from the southwest, treeline temperatures reach -3 C with freezing level climbs to 1700 m.

SATURDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, light wind from the southwest, treeline temperatures reach -1 C with freezing level climbs to 2000 m.

SUNDAY: Flurries deliver 5 to 10 cm of snow overnight then mostly cloudy throughout the day, moderate wind from the west, treeline temperatures reach -5 C with freezing level climbs to 1500 m.

A few large wind slab avalanches occurred in alpine terrain on Tuesday (size 2 to 3), otherwise avalanche activity since the weekend has been limited to small wind slab and dry loose avalanches (size 1).

Strong southwest wind has impacted surface snow conditions at upper elevations, while the surface is moist and crusty below 1800 m. The AvCan field team describes these variable surface conditions at York on Wednesday. The upper snowpack contains several crust layers, and the snow is well bonded these crusts.

• Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
• Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind loaded snow.
• Be alert to conditions that change with aspect and elevation.