Avalanche Forecast

Sunday night: Flurries bringing around 5 cm. Moderate northwest wind. Freezing level drops to valley bottom. Alpine temperature -13.

Monday: Mix of sun and cloud. Moderate northwest wind. Freezing level valley bottom. Alpine temperature -15

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy. Light westerly wind. Freezing level 1400 m. Alpine temperature -7.

Wednesday: Sunny. Light southwest wind. Freezing level 2000 m. Alpine temperature -1.

We are still awaiting reports of avalanche activity from the weekend's storm. A widespread natural cycle is likely to have occurred Sunday.

Recent avalanche activity has primarily been small (size 1-1.5) wind slab and dry loose, with a few reaching the 2-2.5 size range. One notable size 3 slab avalanche was observed northeast of Revelstoke on Wednesday. The avalanche failed on the ground on a south aspect at 1600 m. In neighboring Glacier National Park and South Columbia regions, several natural cornice falls triggered deep slab avalanches size 2-3. As temperatures rise mid week, keep in mind that the springtime heat penetrates down to layers buried deep in the snowpack

The weekend's storm dropped 20-40 cm over the southern Selkirk mountains and 5-10 cm elsewhere. This snow has likely been redistributed by strong wind, switching from southwest to northwest Sunday night. Crusty surfaces exist below treeline.

At alpine and treeline elevations, a widespread crust exists (except on north-facing slopes above 1800 m) buried 50-100 cm deep. Overall the snow seems to be bonding well at this interface, although there have been a few isolated avalanches running on crust layers over the past few week.

• Be careful to keep storm day fever from luring you out into bigger terrain features.
• Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
• Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.
• Use extra caution around cornices: they are large, fragile, and can trigger slabs on slopes below.