Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy. Possible trace of snow. Light west wind. Alpine temperature around -13 C.

Monday: Mostly clear. No new snow expected. Light northeast wind, becoming moderate southwest by the evening. Alpine temperature above -10 C with a possible temperature inversion. 

Tuesday: Overcast. 10-30 cm snow expected. Extreme southwest winds. Freezing level rising to 250 m. Alpine temperature around -5 with a possible temperature inversion.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy. 5-20 cm snow expected. Strong west winds. Freezing level dropping back to valley bottom with alpine temperatures around -10 C.

With some improved visibility, observations of avalanches that occured during the last storm are starting to trickle in. 

Natural, explosive, and cornice triggered slab avalanches have been reported up to size 3.

Some very large explosive triggered avalanches were reported in Bear Pass, having us thinking about the potential for a deep persistent weak layer.

There are recent reports of large to very large avalanches running on or near the ground in the Bear Pass area and around Smithers. We don't know how widespread this problem may be, or if both events even reflect the same avalanche problem, but we are definitely keeping an eye on it, and would be avoiding large features and areas with thin to thick snowpack transitions for now. 

Due to recent, variable winds, you may find wind slabs on many aspects, and on both sides of ridges. Some exposed areas may be stripped back to the Nov 30/Dec 1 Crust. This crust exists up to 2000 m in the southwest of the region, and may only be found up to 1200 m in areas east of Terrace.

At higher elevations where this crust is not present, the storm snow overlies old wind slab or wind stripped ridge tops.

Treeline snowpack depths are estimated to be around 2-3 m, and a prominent crust can be found near the base of the snowpack.

• Avoid lee and cross-loaded slopes at and above treeline.
• Keep in mind the crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.
• Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.