Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain

Cloudy with flurries overnight combined with light Northwest winds and alpine temperatures dipping down to about -20. Alpine temperatures rising on Sunday to about -12 as the winds increase to moderate and shift to the East and then Southeast. Snow Sunday night, expect 5-10 cm of light dry snow by Monday morning combined with increasing Southerly winds. Snow during the day on Monday with another 10-20 cm expected by Tuesday morning. On Tuesday the winds should become strong Southwest and the alpine temperatures should rise up to about -8. The moist Southwest flow is forecast to collide with the cold arctic air making it difficult to forecast snowfall amounts.

No new avalanches reported.  The mid-December surface hoar crust down about 60 cm in most areas continues to be a concern for skier/rider triggering in steep unsupported terrain.

There is about 30-50 cm of recent storm snow combined with variable winds that have produced windslabs on all aspects in the alpine and at treeline. Pockets of warm air in the north have likely made the snow dense in some places, while predominately westerly winds have set up fresh wind slabs in exposed lee areas. The persistent mid-December crust/surface hoar layer appears prominent in the south of the region and is still reported to fail easily during snowpack tests. It is most prominent at within a few hundred metres of treeline elevation. On average it can be found around 60 cm below the surface, although it has variably been reported anywhere from 30-90 cm below the surface. In the north of the region, this layer is present, although reported to be harder to trigger. Further down, a hard rain crust with facets from early November is buried more than a metre down and is currently unreactive. However, triggering from shallow rocky and unsupported terrain remains a concern.