Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Wind effect is extremely variable

Synopsis:  The formidable ridge continues to dominate the weather through the weekend before breaking down on Monday as a series of frontal systems out of the SW begin to stack up offshore.  Saturday: Sky: Broken; Freezing Level: Valley Bottom; Precip: Nil Wind: Light, VariableSunday: Sky: Broken; Freezing Level: Valley Bottom; Precip: Nil Wind: Light, VariableMonday: Sky: Overcast; Freezing Level: Valley Bottom; Precip: 5/10 cm Wind: Light, SW | Strong W/SW at ridgetop.

Surface sluffing to size 1.5 was reported on Thursday.  No other significant avalanche activity was reported Wednesday or Thursday.

A small front came through the region on January 29th leaving up to 10 cm of snow in it's wake. Outflow winds (out of the N/NW) have formed small wind slabs in wind exposed terrain at and above treeline. Well settled snow can be found in wind protected features. Below the wind slabs and settled storm snow a weak layer exists that consists of large surface hoar (widespread in most sheltered and shaded areas at all elevations), a sun crust on south facing slopes, faceted grains (in colder areas or areas with a thinner snowpack), or a combination of the above. This variable weak layer is expected to become a significant problem if/when it finally starts snowing again. The rest of the upper and mid-snowpack are generally well consolidated. A facet/crust weakness near the bottom of the snowpack has gone dormant for now but may rear it's ugly head again in the future. The depth of this layer makes triggering an avalanche unlikely but the consequences would be very serious.