North Columbia

The recent storm snow has been most reactive to human triggers on solar aspects where the new snow is sitting on crust and/or in wind effected terrain.

High -

THURSDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with isolated flurries; trace-5 cm. / Light to moderate, westerly winds / Alpine low -8 / Freezing level below valley bottom.FRIDAY: Mix of sun and cloud / Light to moderate, westerly winds / Alpine high 0 / Freezing level 1500 m.SATURDAY: Sunny / Light, westerly winds / Alpine high 1 / Freezing level 1700 m.SUNDAY: Sunny / Light, southwesterly winds / Alpine high 3 / Freezing level 2000 m.

On Wednesday, numerous natural storm slab avalanches up to size 3 and rider triggered up to size 2 were reported on all aspects at treeline and above. Some of the avalanches were triggered remotely from lower angle terrain by skiers 30 m. away from the slope that avalanched. This suggests that recent storm snow is still very sensitive to human triggers in specific locations.

30-60 cm of storm snow from the last week is sitting mainly on facets (sugary snow), as well as surface hoar (feathery crystals) in sheltered areas and a crust on sun exposed slopes. There are a two weak layers in the upper snowpack that were buried in mid and late January. These can be found approximately 60-120 cm deep. Both layers consist of surface hoar and may be associated with a crust on steep, south facing slopes. These weak layers have been most reactive at lower elevations. Avalanche occurrences on these layers have tapered significantly, however it may still be possible to trigger an avalanche on these layers in isolated areas such as steep cutblocks and large open glades.The lower snowpack is generally considered to be strong, except for shallow, rocky areas where the cold temperatures continue to facet (weaken) the snowpack.