Regions
South Coast Inland.
Cold north winds have been blowing. Watch for fresh wind slabs, particularly on southerly aspects.
Weather Forecast
MONDAY: Dry and sunny. Winds northeasterly 20-30 km/h at ridgetop. Ridgetop temperatures around -16C. TUESDAY: Dry and sunny. Winds northeasterly 15-25 km/h. Temperatures around -18C. WEDNESDAY: Dry and sunny. Winds northeasterly 40-60 km/h. Temperatures around -16C.
Avalanche Summary
A loose snow avalanche was human-triggered in steep terrain in the Coquihallas on Saturday resulting in the loss of a ski.
Snowpack Summary
The critical parts of the snowpack under current conditions are wind slabs in exposed areas, and, for low snow areas such as the Chilcotins, a layer of faceted snow from mid-December that in those areas is buried under about 50 cm of snow. Most parts of the region saw 60-90 cm new snow last week, which is reported to be generally bonding well. A facet/surface hoar layer was buried on Boxing Day (surface hoar up to 5 mm was observed in the Duffey Lake area), but does not seem to have turned into a major concern. The mid-December interface is now down over 1 m in most parts and is generally considered to be stable, except in shallow snowpack areas as mentioned above, where snowpack tests indicate it could still be a viable failure plane.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.