Northwest Inland

Weak, sugary snow at the bottom of the snowpack remains a primary concern. This is especially true in large, steep, and rocky alpine features with variable snowpack depths.

Low - Due to the number of field observations

Thursday: Light flurries / Strong Westerly winds / -10 in the alpineFriday: 2-5cm of new snow / Extreme southwest winds / -9 in the alpineSaturday: 3-8cm of new snow / Extreme southwest winds  / -5 in the alpine

On Tuesday, a skier accidentally triggered a size 2 wind slab on a 34 degree southwest facing slope at treeline. This avalanche occurred a few kilometres east of the Kispiox river valley. No other new avalanches were reported.

10-20 cm of new snow fell last weekend. Observations have been limited, although the few reports we've received suggest these accumulations have been shifted into wind slabs at treeline and in the alpine. Snow depth at treeline varies from about 1 m in most areas to 2 m in deeper snowpack areas in the south and west of the region. The shallow snowpack areas mostly consist of weak facetted or sugary grains beneath hard slabs. These hard slabs may produce surprisingly long fractures resulting in large avalanches, and in some instances they may step down to weak faceted snow crystals near or at the ground. In addition to the facets, a thick layer of buried surface hoar may be found 30-40 cm below the surface. There is another persistent weakness that formed during the early December cold snap which is now about 50-70 cm deep.