Triggering large avalanches is a serious concern as illustrated in this PHOTO BLOG.
Stick to low-angle slopes, avoid overhead hazards, and choose smaller objectives.
Large avalanches on a 100 cm deep facet/crust layer are a serious concern. We have seen full-path avalanches, many remote-triggered. They are becoming less likely to trigger, but uncertainty and serious consequences remain.
Large and very large natural and explosive-triggered persistent slab avalanches have been reported daily over the past week (size 2 to 3.5). There have been fewer reports of human-triggered avalanches in the past few days, but all signs suggest they are still likely if travelling near steeper terrain (remote-triggered avalanches have been frequent).
The photos below show the type of terrain and typical size for these avalanches.
Surface conditions currently include sun crusts, lightly wind-affected snow, and settling powder.
A widespread crust that formed in early February is roughly 80 to 120 cm deep. Weak faceted crystals and surface hoar above this crust are contributing to large avalanches across the province.
Additionally, the lower snowpack is mostly comprised of weak and faceted layers.
Thursday Night
Clear skies. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.
Friday
Mostly sunny. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Saturday
Mix of sun and cloudy with 1 to 2 cm of snow. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy with 1 to 4 cm of snow. 25 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
