Avalanche Forecast

Moderate

On Wednesday, a large (size 2.5) wind slab failing on a crust occurred in steep wind-loaded east-facing terrain in the McGregors. Several smaller but similar wind slabs were triggered by riders in the same area on Tuesday.

The field team was also able to trigger small slabs on surface hoar and witnessed shooting cracks in the Pine Pass area. See photos below.

Up to 40 cm of recent storm snow combined with moderate to strong westerly winds have built reactive storm slabs in the region. The most snow fell in the northern and central parts of the region, with less in the Barkerville, McBride and Kakwa areas.

The storm snow is covering a variety of surfaces that may take a while to bond. These include old wind-affected snow, hard crusts, facets, and surface hoar.

We continue to track early January and early December surface hoar and crust layers down 30 to 60 cm and 80 to 150 cm, respectively. Both are considered unlikely to trigger.

Thursday Night

Cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 40 to 50 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Friday

Sunny. 25 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Saturday

A mix of sun and cloud. 30 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8°C.

Sunday

Sunny. 40 to 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C, with possible temperature inversion.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Start with conservative terrain and watch for signs of instability.
• Keep your guard up as storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.
• Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.
• Be aware of the potential for larger than expected storm slabs due to buried surface hoar.