Avalanche Forecast

Friday night: flurries with up to 5cm of new snow. Moderate westerly winds. Low of -3 at 1500m.

Saturday: some light flurries ending in the morning with light to moderate northwest winds. Freezing levels rising to 1600m.

Sunday: clear skies and no new snow expected. Moderate southwest winds. Freezing level rising to 1500 m in the north and up to 2500 m in the south.

Monday: light precipitation throughout the day with moderate southwest winds. freezing level around 1600m.

On Tuesday in the north of the region one skier remote size one was reported. This avalanche was on a northeast aspect at 1700m and is believed to have failed on the surface hoar and facet layer down 30cm from late January.

On Tuesday, there was a report of a small (size 1) human-triggered avalanche that released in the recent snow on a convex feature at upper treeline elevations near Pemberton. 

In the neighbouring Sea to Sky region, we received a report of a large (size 2.5) human-triggered avalanche near Rainbow Mountain that caught and carried a group of five skiers. The avalanche released on north aspect at 1900 m. It broke 40 cm deep on the late January facet-crust layer. The avalanche propagated across adjacent roll-over features and triggered a sympathetic slide on a small feature 200 m away.

On Sunday, observers in the north of the region reported large (size 2) natural avalanches releasing in the storm snow near Dark Side Lake (see this MIN and this MIN).

up to 15 cm of new snow accompanied by strong southwest winds on Friday will form new storm and wind slabs at all elevations. Wind slabs will likely be found on north and east aspects.

20 to o 50 cm sits above a variety of surfaces including surface hoar, facets and a crust. This layer is most prominent at treeline and above. Especially in the Duffy area.

Deeper in the snowpack, it is possible to find a crust/facet layer from December that is buried down 100-150 cm. This layer is most prominent between 1700-2100 m and is currently classified as dormant; although large loads such as a cornice failure or avalanches in motion may still be able to trigger avalanches on this layer.

• Avoid freshly wind loaded features, especially near ridge crests, roll-overs and in steep terrain.
• Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of buried weak layers.
• Remote triggering is a concern, avoid terrain where triggering slopes from below is possible