Evaluate terrain carefully. Steep open slopes may have a buried weak layer capable of producing large avalanches.
We are uncertain about this problem. A deeply buried layer of facets on a crust is producing large scary avalanches across the province. It is 40 to 80 cm deep in this region, and potentially triggerable on steep slopes at treeline and above.
Reports from this region have been limited. A size 1 human-triggered wind slab was reported on an east aspect on Monday, and an explosive-triggered size 1.5 storm slab occurred on Saturday. However, neighboring regions have reported numerous large to very large natural and human-triggered persistent slab avalanches. Although not as large or likely in this region, triggering persistent slabs is still a concern.
Surface conditions include a dusting of soft snow, sun crust on south aspects, and wind-affected snow in the alpine.
A widespread crust that formed in early February is buried roughly 40 to 80 cm deep, possibly with a weak layer of facets above it. In neighbouring regions, this layer has produced many large and concerning avalanches over the past week.
The snowpack below this crust is strong and bonded.
Wednesday Night
Clear skies. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.
Thursday
Sunny. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with 1 to 2 cm of snow. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy with 1 to 3 cm of snow. 50 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
