Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, South Coast Inland, Stein, Taseko.
Watch for storm slabs to become increasingly reactive as snowfall accumulates through Saturday.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No notable recent avalanches have been reported. Please continue to post your observations and photos to the Mountain Information Network.
Snowpack Summary
A fresh 5-15 cm of snow accumulated by Friday morning, accompanied by steady south wind. The new snow overlies a facetted and unconsolidated layer which formed during the recent cold weather.
The snowpack is unusually shallow and has a layer deep in the snowpack made up of weak facets and depth hoar. At lower elevations and shallower areas, the snowpack remains mostly unconsolidated.
The height of snow is roughly 50-200 cm at treeline.
Weather Summary
Friday night
Stormy with flurries, up to 10 cm accumulation overnight. Alpine temperatures rise to -8 C by morning. Ridgetop winds southwest 20-40 km/hr.
Saturday
Snow through the day, 10-20 cm. Alpine high temperature -4 C. Ridgetop winds southwest 30-60 km/hr. Freezing level 1000 m.
SundayContinued flurries, 10 cm. Alpine high temperatures +1 C. Ridgetop winds southwest 20-30 km/hr. Freezing level rising above 1500 m.
MondayWet flurries and snow, 15-25 cm. Alpine high temperatures 0 C. Ridgetop winds southwest 20-30 km/hr. Freezing level 1800 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
- Be especially cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.
- Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
Avalanche Problems
Storm Slabs
10-30 cm of snow is forecast to accumulate by the end of Saturday with deeper amounts expected as you travel west. Storm slabs will become increasingly reactive as snowfall accumulates throughout the day.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 1.5
Deep Persistent Slabs
Much of the lower snowpack is made up of weak, unconsolidated facets and depth hoar crystals. Steer clear of large slopes with a cohesive slab on the surface, likely created by previous wind loading. Any small avalanche or sluff in steep terrain has the potential to step down to this deeper layer, resulting in a large avalanche.
This layer is unlikely to be human-triggered, the forecasted rapid and heavy load of new snow will stress the snowpack and may provide more insight into the dormancy of this deeper instability.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 3