Avalanche Forecast
Regions: McGregor, North Rockies, Pine Pass.
Make conservative terrain choices and give the storm snow time to heal. Back off sun exposed slopes if you notice the snow getting moist.
Confidence
Low
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were reported in the past few days in the region but observations are limited.
If you are out in the backcountry please consider filling out a Mountain Information Network report.
Snowpack Summary
New storm and wind slabs exist at all elevations. the largest slabs will be found on West, north and east aspects. The snow surface will likely become moist on sun exposed slopes.
Snowpack depths are shallower than normal and several crust/facet layers exist throughout the snowpack. The most concerning is a weak layer of facets buried in November and found near the bottom of the snowpack.
Recent observations suggest the buried weak layers are gaining strength, but not enough to trust them in high consequence terrain.
Weather Summary
Saturday Night
Cloudy with around 5cm of new snow. Light to moderate west winds and a low of -8 at 1500m.
Sunday
A mix of sun and cloud with the possibility of light flurries bringing trace amounts of new snow. Light to moderate westerly winds and a high of -6 at 1500m.
Monday
Stormy with up to 15cm of new snow expected. Strong to extreme westerly winds and a high of -3 at 1500m.
Tuesday
Cloudy with 5 to 10cm of new snow expected. Strong westerly winds and freezing levels rising to 1400m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
- Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
- Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.
- Avoid being on or under sun exposed slopes.
Avalanche Problems
Storm Slabs
Rider triggerable storm slabs could still be found at all elevations. The largest being found on northerly aspects. Sensitivity to triggering could increase on sun exposed slopes.
Be aware that storm slab avalanches could step down to deeper layers resulting in a larger and more destructive avalanche.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Very Likely
Expected Size: 1.5 - 2.5
Deep Persistent Slabs
The most concerning layer in this region is a layer of weak facets near the bottom of the snowpack. This layer is most likely to be triggered at upper treeline/alpine on shallow terrain features.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely
Expected Size: 2 - 3