Avalanche Forecast

Riders triggered a few small storm and wind slabs within the top 10 to 20 cm of snow, generally in wind affected terrain.

The latest persistent slab activity occurred December 18. Activity may remain quiet during this cold spell but the buried weak layers described in the Snowpack Summary could become touchy again with warmer weather and new snow that is forecast for the coming weekend.

Around 5 to 15 cm of snow overlies a widespread weak layer of surface hoar crystals and a melt-freeze crust on sun-exposed slopes. The snow surface is wind affected in exposed terrain features from northerly wind, with soft and faceted snow found in sheltered areas.

Two problematic layers exist around 40 and 70 cm deep, consisting of surface hoar, faceted grains, and/or a melt-freeze crust. Avalanches have been most prominent between 1700 and 2200 m on all aspects. Read our forecaster blog for managing a persistent slab problem.

Wednesday Night

Clear skies with no precipitation, 10 km/h northeast wind, treeline temperature -27 °C.

Thursday

Clear skies with late afternoon clouds and no precipitation, 10 km/h south wind, treeline temperature -25 °C.

Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 10 to 15 cm, 20 to 40 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperatures -17 °C.

Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 10 to 20 cm, 20 to 40 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperatures -7 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present and have produced recent large avalanches.
• Avoid making assumptions about this layer based on the presence of aggressive tracks on adjacent slopes