Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Babine, Boundary, East Stikine, Howson, Hudson Bay, Kispiox, Kitimat, Microwave-Sinclair, Nass, Ningunsaw, North Bulkley, Northwest Coastal, Northwest Inland, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, South Bulkley, Stewart, Telkwa, West Stikine.
Evaluate your line for wind slabs before committing to larger features.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanche observations since Friday, when activity was mostly limited to small size 1-1.5 natural and rider-triggered wind slabs on north to east aspects in the alpine.
Snowpack Summary
In the alpine, 10 to 50 cm of dry snow has been redistributed into wind slabs. Underneath, a moist/crusty upper snowpack extends up to 1800 m north of Stewart and 2000 m around Terrace/Smithers latitudes. At elevations below treeline, crusty surfaces cap a wet snowpack.
A variety of previously concerning weak layers buried in January can be found 30 to 100 cm deep. These layers produced large avalanches near Stewart during last week's rain event. They now appear to be strengthening and are not anticipated to be a problem under the current conditions.
Weather Summary
Sunday night
Clear. East ridgetop wind 20 to 30 km/h. Treeline temperature around -12 °C.
Monday
A mix of sun and cloud. Southeast ridgetop wind 20 to 30 km/h. Treeline temperature around -6 °C.
Tuesday
Clouding over, flurries starting in the afternoon bringing a trace of snow. Ridgetop wind northwest shifting southwest 10 to 20 km/h. Treeline temperature around -6 °C.
Wednesday
Around 5 cm overnight then a mix of sun and cloud with scattered flurries. Ridgetop wind northwest to southwest 10 to 20 km/h. Treeline temperature around -6 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
- Use extra caution around cornices: they are large, fragile, and can trigger slabs on slopes below.
- When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind slabs may remain triggerable at upper elevations where wind has transported dry snow into leeward terrain features. Wind-transported snow has also enlarged cornices recently.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 1.5