Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Blue River, Clemina, Esplanade, North Monashee, North Selkirk, Premier, Robson.
Check out this blog post for some insight into the current shallow yet complex snowpack.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
Have a look at our most recent blog post that highlights several large, scary avalanches occurring over the last couple of weeks.
No significant avalanches have been reported over the last few days.
Snowpack Summary
Variable wind-affected snow surfaces at treeline and above. Below treeline a crust exists at or near the surface.
The mid-pack remains complex with numerous layers. Of particular note are a hard crust from the early December rain event down roughly 50 cm and most importantly a layer of preserved surface hoar down roughly 50 to 90 cm.
At the bottom of the snowpack is a layer of facetted snow, particularly in shallower alpine terrain.
Currently, the snowpack is particularly complex, with considerable variation across different locations.
Weather Summary
Saturday night
Mostly cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 10 to 20 km/h, treeline temperature -2 °C, freezing levels dropping to 1000 m by the morning.
Sunday
Cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow (up to 10 cm in the Selkirks), southwest alpine winds 10 to 20 km/h, treeline temperature -4 °C.
Monday
Mostly cloudy with no precipitation, southwest alpine winds 10 to 20 km/h, treeline temperature -7 °C.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy with no precipitation, southeast alpine winds 10 to 20 km/h, treeline temperature -7 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
- Keep in mind that human triggering potential persists as natural avalanching tapers off.
- Uncertainty is best managed through conservative terrain choices at this time.
Avalanche Problems
Persistent Slabs
A layer of surface hoar is down 50 to 90 cm; an ideal depth for large, human-triggered avalanches.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 3
Deep Persistent Slabs
With basal facets, shallow snowpack areas are the most likely trigger points.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 2 - 3.5