Northwest Coastal

The best riding is likely to be found in sheltered north and east facing aspects.

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

THURSDAY: Mostly cloudy with flurries / Light southwesterly ridgetop winds / Alpine high -3FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy with flurries; 5-10 cm new snow / Moderate to strong southwesterly ridgetop winds / Alpine high -2SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy with flurries / Strong southwesterly ridgetop winds / Freezing level rising to around 1000 m.

On Monday, a skier triggered size 1.5 wind slab was reported on a south aspect at 1200 m. No new avalanches were reported in this region on Tuesday.

Surface snow consists of thin sun crusts, sugary faceted snow, and wind pressed snow on a range of aspects in exposed terrain. In sheltered areas at treeline and below, 20-30 cm of snow sits over a layer of surface hoar that has been reactive to skier traffic in isolated locations. In the upper/mid-pack you will likely find layers of crusts, facets, and isolated surface hoar buried 50-100 cm below the surface. Deeper in the snowpack, around 150-200 cm down there is a crust/surface hoar layer from January which still has the potential to be triggered from a thin snowpack spot, or with a large trigger like cornice fall. Sugary facets near the bottom of the snowpack would likely be found in colder and dryer parts of the region, such as the far north.