Avalanche Forecast

Fair

Synopsis: Cooler and unsettled conditions are expected for Thursday and Friday. A ridge of high pressure should start to develop on Friday resulting in drier and sunnier weather.  Thursday: Mainly cloudy with a chance of flurries. The freezing level drops to around 400 m overnight and winds are moderate from the northwest. Friday and Saturday: A mix of sun and cloud. The freezing level drops to near sea level overnight and rises to 800 m during the day. Winds are light to moderate from the north-northwest.

There is one new report of a size 1.5 skier triggered slab avalanche from the South Chilcotins on Tuesday. This avalanche occurred on a steep north aspect in the alpine and was triggered mid-slope. On Monday, a cornice fall triggered a size 3 slab avalanche on a NE aspect with a crown depth up to 100 cm. There is limited information on an accidentally triggered slab avalanche on Sunday in the Duffey Lake area that resulted in 2 people being buried.

Freezing levels climbed to 1700-1800 m with the system on Wednesday, resulting in moist or wet snow below treeline. Recent snowfall amounts vary significantly throughout the region. In the Coquihalla area, 10-15cm of dense new snow sits on a melt-freeze crust or up to 90 cm of previous storm snow. At the base of the old storm snow is another melt-freeze crust buried around a week ago. Further to the north (Duffey Lake) there is 10-15 cm of new snow sitting on a sun crust, wind slab, or settling storm snow. A buried surface hoar layer can be found down 50-70 cm and may be associated with a sun crust on southerly aspects at treeline. For all areas, expect extensive wind slabs and cornices in the alpine.