Avalanche Forecast

Thursday night: Some light flurries with light to moderate Northwest winds in the alpine. Low of -15 at 1500m.

Friday: High of -13 at 1500m. Moderate Northwest winds in the morning shifting to Southwest in the afternoon. Sunny and no new snow expected.

Saturday: A storm arrives bringing up to 40cm of new snow with the highest snowfall in the Southwest corner of the forecast region. Winds will be strong from the Southwest. High of -10 at 1500m.

Sunday: High of -9 at 1500m. light snow in the morning. Strong Southwest winds in the morning becoming light West in the afternoon.

One natural size 2.5 was observed in the Monashees on Wednesday on a West aspect at 2150m. This avalanche failed on the early December facet/crust combo. The crown was one meter deep, a good indicator of the high consequences of triggering this layer.

Up to 10cm of low density snow fell over the region Thursday morning. This overlies a variety of surfaces including old wind slab and storm snow. 

The defining feature of the snowpack is a widespread crust that reaches as high as 2200 m and now sits 50-100 cm below the surface. In many places overlying snow is well-bonded to the crust but in others weak faceted grains have been observed above it. The facets above the crust are most prominent at treeline where the crust is thinner.

Average snowpack depth at treeline is 250cm.

• 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 a persistent slab.
• In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.