Avalanche Forecast

Poor - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain

Synopsis: Light precipitation until Friday, when a Pineapple Express to the south of the region will spill some moisture over into this region.Wednesday: Mostly flurries, but light snowfall (around 5cm) in higher snow areas in the west. Treeline temperature around -5C. Winds SW around 30 km/h.Thursday: Light snowfall. Freezing level rising to around 1000 m in the afternoon. Winds southwest 50 km/h becoming 80 km/h  in the afternoon/evening.Friday: Moderate snowfall. Strong to extreme southwest winds, freezing level up to 1300 m.

There were reports of natural avalanches up to size 2.5 on north facing slopes during the weekend following loading from new snow and wind. Slope testing on Monday resulted in a few size 1 slabs in steep wind-loaded features.

A new sun crust has formed on steeper solar aspects that may be buried by light snow. In shady areas there is 40-60 cm of well settled storm snow. Strong southwest winds formed touchy wind slabs in exposed terrain in lee of ridges, in gullies, and behind terrain features. There are a variety of old interfaces now down 60 - 100cm which include facets, crusts and isolated pockets of surface hoar. Recent observations indicate that these weaknesses have bonded fairly well now, but I still suggest digging and testing the snowpack to confirm.A strong mid-pack currently overlies a weak base layer of facets/depth hoar. It is worth noting that the snowpack in general is quite shallow in northern and eastern parts of the region. Triggering the basal weakness may still be possible from thin spots, rocky outcrops or under the weight of larger triggers such as cornice fall.