Avalanche Forecast

A more typical winter weather pattern has set up as a series of storms will continue to slam onto the coast then pushing their way into the Interior regions. With these fast moving systems the details are hard to pin-point like track, timing and intensity. Saying that, we know were getting it, but confidence remains low on the actuals. Friday: Strong extreme ridgetop winds from the S-SW, snow up to 5 cm, freezing levels near 1000 m. Saturday: Strong SW-W ridgetop winds, trace of new snow with accumulations increasing overnight and freezing levels at valley bottom. The stormy pattern continues early next week.

No recent avalanches have been reported. If you are out in the mountains, please post your observations to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack observations are limited. Above 2000 m reports suggest that the average height of snow is 100-150 cm and reaches the threshold for avalanches to occur. Below, there is anywhere from 70-100 cm. Current snow surfaces are a mix of stubborn wind slabs and crusts in exposed higher elevation terrain, and loose faceted snow and surface hoar in more sheltered areas. The mid-November melt-freeze crust is sandwiched between thicker slabs approximately 30-50 cm down. Below 2000 m 20-40 cm of faceted snow sits above the melt freeze crust. That said, the combination of a crust, facets and surface hoar could prove to be a significant weak layer when it finally snows again. In general there is a lot of uncertainty regarding snowpack structure throughout the region. I would dig down and test for weak layers before committing to any steeper lines.