Morning sun packs a punch!

<p>It was another warm, sunny day in the Crowsnest Pass area today! We started at the Atlas Staging Area, and were able to sled right from there with only a few small dirt patches starting to melt out. In the early afternoon, the temperature was +8 at 2200 m. We travelled mostly on north-facing slopes, and noticed that the snow was starting to get affected by the sun and warm temperatures through the day. Ski conditions were good in the morning on higher north-facing slopes, but then the snow became heavier later in the day. On a south-facing slope at 2200 m, we found the mid-March crust down around 45 cm, and all the snow sitting above it was still supportive, but becoming moist. We observed a few natural size 1 wet loose avalanches out of steep, rocky, east-facing terrain during the day. We also saw evidence of previous wet loose avalanches on south-facing aspects from the warmth and sun the last few days. We avoided south-facing slopes as temperatures warmed up through the day. Driving home from Atlas staging we saw 2 large wet slabs from steep NE terrain around 2000 m on Mt Sentry</p>

Terrain Ridden

Alpine slopes, Dense trees, Steep slopes.

Terrain Avoided

Sunny slopes.

Avalanche Conditions

Slab avalanches today or yesterday.

Rapid temperature rise to near zero degrees or wet surface snow.

Snow Conditions

Heavy.

Weather Conditions

Sunny, Warm.