Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

TUESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, light to moderate north wind, alpine high temperatures around -12 C.WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries in the afternoon, moderate northwest wind, alpine high temperatures around -12 C. THURSDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, moderate northwest wind, alpine high temperatures around -8 C.

On Sunday, numerous large (size 2) natural wind slabs were reported in alpine terrain in the Duffey area and other northern parts of the region. They occurred on a wide range of aspects, but most notably on south and west facing slopes. Skiers in the area also triggered a few small (size 1) slab avalanches on cross-loaded terrain at treeline and in the alpine.A few small natural slab avalanches were observed in the Coquihalla area on the weekend.Triggering wind slabs will remain possible throughout the upcoming week.

In sheltered terrain, cold weather is preserving low density snow from the recent storms. In exposed terrain, strong north and east winds have scoured windward slopes and loaded lee slopes. Storm totals from Saturday range from 30 cm in the Duffey area and other northern parts of the region, 50 cm around the Coquihalla, and 40 cm around Manning Park.In southern parts of the region, the new snow sits above a widespread crust with well settled snow below the crust. In northern parts of the region, avalanche professionals are still monitoring the mid-January crust and are avoiding shallow rocky slopes where triggering this layer is most likely. This layer is now 80-150 cm deep, but a heavy trigger (cornice?) or the next major storm could potentially wake up this layer. Cornice growth has also been reported in northern parts of the region, which could be a potential trigger for an avalanches on the slopes below them.