Northwest Inland

Assess for storm slabs and unstable snow before committing to steep or high-consequence terrain.

Sunday: A large (size 2) avalanche was observed in the Hudson Bay Mtn area out of steep east-facing alpine terrain.

Saturday: A small (size 1) skier-triggered avalanche was triggered below treeline, and several large (size 2) naturally-triggered avalanches were observed in the alpine in the mountains northeast of Hazelton.

Friday: There were reports of small (size 1) skier-triggered avalanches on north-facing treeline slopes in the Hankin-Evelyn area.

Except for high alpine elevations where some dry snow may still be found, the upper snowpack is moist or wet due to warm temperatures and rain.

Storm snow amounts over the last week have varied across the region. The current storm slab is 15-30 cm thick and is made up of dense, moist or wet snow. On north and east faces these slabs may be thicker due to recent winds. The storm snow may be poorly bonded to a crust formed in early January that extends up to treeline elevations.

Two deeper surface hoar layers exist. These layers have become dormant and unlikely to trigger.

Sunday Night

Cloudy with 2-6 cm of snow / light rain, south alpine wind 60-70 km/h, treeline temperature 6°C, freezing level 2000 m.

Monday

Cloudy with a trace of new snow, south alpine wind 80 km/h, treeline temperature 2°C, freezing level 1700 m.

Tuesday

Cloudy with 5-15 cm of new snow / light to moderate rain, southwest alpine wind 60-70 km/h, treeline temperature 0°C, freezing level 1300 m.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 4-12 cm new snow / light to moderate rain, southeast alpine wind 60 km/h, treeline temperature 1°C, freezing level rising to 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
• Loose avalanches may start small but they can grow and push you into dangerous terrain.