It looks to be a soggy Thursday night and Friday day in the Rockies but possibly staying a little drier in the Columbias. Observations from the Rockies near the divide currently show around 10-20 cm of recent snow above 2000m up by the Columbia Icefields and maybe 5-10 new snow at around 2100m around Lake Louise/Lake O'Hara. Assume much more than that above 3000m.
After a few days of unsettled weather, the weekend is looking pretty good for getting out in the mountains! Saturday and Sunday are forecast to be mostly sunny with a small chance of late day thundershowers. Saturday night looks both cool and clear which should help snow travel conditions on Sunday morning if you get up early enough. Monday ushers in a week of unsettled cool and showery weather according to the current long range forecasts.
Great conditions currently on the coast for mountaineering and alpine rock climbing.
The Rockies are known for rapid weather changes and this week has not been an exception. In the town of Banff right now it is 0 degrees and snowing at about 2 cm per hour. Yesterday had some sun with a high of 13, and earlier this week it was bluebird and 26 degrees.
Alpine climbing season has cooled from last week...for the better.
Weather
Wet and cooler temperatures have been the pattern of the week and leading through the coming weekend. Far more typical conditions to be expected for this time of year. Generally, the system has been broken with periods of sun or strong precip. A dusting of new snow to 1900m has in most places melted but might still be found in some deep, dark, high places.
Alpine climbing season is coming in hot.
Weather
Generally speaking, it’s a been a warm, sunny spring on the coast with sustained periods of high pressure with warmer than average temperatures. This is looking to continue for the next week before some welcomed rain will return.
It is that time of year again to start up the MCR summary machine, and we will keep it running through the summer and into the late fall.
Avalanches and cornice collapses in all regions are still the biggest hazards during this transition period, and should be monitored as conditions vary dramatically through the day. Avalanche gear while skiing or climbing should still be worn in avalanche terrain that still has snow on it, even though our minds are shifting to summer.
CONDITIONS
This past week has been wintery in the west, with overnight lows in the alpine nearing -20°C and little storms bringing in small but constant amounts of snow in the Rockies and Columbia mountain ranges. In the Rockies, treeline snow depths are now above threshold for avalanches (50 cm+) and in the Rogers Pass area you can expect up to double that. Alpine snow depths are over a meter in the Rockies and over 150 cm around Rogers Pass.
Although we have had some warm weather in the past week it looks like a change is upon us and we can expect some normal November patterns. This will cause things to get more winter-like than the fine autumn conditions that we have had recently.
Another beautiful autumn week in the Rockies and Interior BC, but looks like we're returning to a more typical colder weather pattern in the days to come. If snowfall amounts in the high Rockies and further west are substantial we will be back to early winter mode again with avalanche concerns rising back to the top of our list of hazards for mountain travel.
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