Wind slabs can step down to deeply buried weak layers, creating very large avalanches.
Choose smaller, low-consequence terrain.
Easterly outflow winds in the past 24 hours have created pockets of wind slabs in west-facing terrain. Recent winds have varied in direction, so be cautious of wind-loaded pockets on all aspects.
Cornices are large, looming, and may trigger large persistent slabs on slopes below.
It may be possible to trigger persistent weak layers of crusts/facets or surface hoar in the top 250 cm of the snowpack where there is not a thick crust under the recent snow.
A fatal avalanche accident occurred north of Terrace on March 22. Available details can be found here.
In the past few days, a few natural and several skier-triggered wind slabs up to size 2 have been reported. Several natural cornice failures occurred, and one pulled a large (size 3) persistent slab on a NW aspect in the alpine.
Observations in this region are limited. Thank you for submitting MIN reports and letting us know what you're seeing in the backcountry! 🙏
Cornices are large and looming. Avoid travelling underneath them.
20 to 50 cm of recent snow has been redistributed by strong southwest shifting to northeast winds, creating wind slabs on a variety of aspects. Below the recent snow is either a crust or a wind-scoured hard snow surface.
There are multiple persistent weak layers consisting of crust/facets or surface hoar in the top 250 cm of the snowpack.
The lower snowpack is generally well settled and strong.
Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 10 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 5 cm of snow. 15 to 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 20 cm of snow. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.
Friday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 15 cm of snow. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
