Recent wind has created heightened avalanche conditions on steep, open slopes.
Recent winds formed slabs at and below ridgetops in atypical areas. These slabs could be more reactive on slopes where they overlie a weak layer of surface hoar and/or a crust.
A few small (size 1 to 1.5) isolated wind slab avalanches were observed in alpine terrain across the region on Wednesday, and skiers reported soft wind slabs cracking around their skis. With steady northeast wind on Thursday, there are likely fresh wind slabs on south and east-facing slopes.
Strong northeast wind has redistributed 20 cm of recent low-density snow. This snow may bond poorly to underlying layers of surface hoar, faceted snow, and wind-pressed snow.
A prominent crust is found 30 to 50 cm deep. It extends up to 1900 m in the Cariboos and up to 1400 m around Pine Pass. At this point, the only potential concern with this layer is for areas east of Quesnel and Williams Lake, where a layer of small surface hoar has been observed near the crust.
The midpack is reportedly strong and bonded.
Thursday Night
Partly cloudy with no precipitation, southwest alpine wind 20 km/h, treeline temperature -20 °C.
Friday
Increasing cloud with a trace of snow in the Cariboos by the evening, southwest alpine wind 30 km/h, treeline temperature -14 °C.
Saturday
Cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow by the morning and 1 to 3 cm during the day, southwest alpine wind 40 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature -10 °C.
Sunday
Cloudy with a trace of snow, southwest alpine wind 30 km/h, treeline temperature -8 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
