Avalanche Forecast

Low - Due to the number and quality of field observations

Friday: Cloudy with possible flurries. Strong ridgetop winds from the West. Alpine temperature -10. Freezing level 500 m and dropping.Saturday: Mix of sun and cloud. Light ridgetop winds from the North West. Alpine temperature -15. Freezing level valley bottom.Sunday: Mostly sunny with some residual cloud. Strong ridgetop winds from the North West. Alpine temperature -12. Freezing level valley bottom. Visit the Mountain Weather Forecast for more details.

On Tuesday, skiers up Skilokis Creek area reported remotely triggering a large (Size 2.5) avalanche from 150 m away as they approached a north-facing, treeline bowl. The avalanche was triggered from a shallow snowpack area and failed on a weak facet layer just above the late October crust near the base of the snowpack. The persistent slab was 80 cm deep, 120 m wide and ran 300 m in length. The week before that, several estimated Size 2.5-3 avalanches were observed on the Kathlyn face of Hudson Bay Mountain and are also suspected to have failed on the late October crust. This "crust/facet combo" layer is capable of producing very large avalanche and is expected to remain a layer of concern for some time. Please post your observations to the Mountain Information Network. (MIN)

Average Snowpack depths are 100-140 cm at treeline elevations, and up to 160 cm in the alpine. Approximately 30-40 cm of recent snow now overlies the supportive November 23 crust. This crust extends well into alpine elevations. Below this crust is a well settled mid pack that sits on the widespread late October crust near the base of the snowpack at all elevations. This late October "crust/facet combo" layer has been very reactive to rider triggers producing large avalanches.