Parks Canada Visitor Safety was flying in Mount Revelstoke NP yesterday and observed a wintry scene at tree-line and above. Average snowpack depths around 2000m were between 275cm and 300cm, so there is still a lot(!) of snow in the alpine. Any aspects that had received sun, even early in the morning, were isothermal and it was easy to skier-control loose, wet avalanches to size 1 on small slopes. All larger solar aspects were completely avoided. Slopes that hadn't received sunshine yet had a supportive crust that made travelling easy without ski crampons.

While the warm valley-bottom temperatures are likely distracting people from even thinking about skiing, it is good to remember that there is a deep snowpack high in the mountains. Alpine climbing routes will take several weeks (or more) to shape up in Glacier National Park, so keep monitoring conditions to get your timing right.

Mount Revelstoke / Glacier NP Visitor Safety