Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Babine, Howson, Hudson Bay, Kispiox, Microwave-Sinclair, North Bulkley, Northwest Inland, South Bulkley, Telkwa.
Persistent slab avalanches remain possible to trigger. Watch for signs of instability such as whumpfing.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
On Thursday a large (size 2.5) naturally triggered wind slab avalanche was reported near Ashman.
Whumpfing has been experienced by backcountry users in the Babines, Grizzly Plateau, and Hudson Bay Mountain recently. The whumpfing has been occurring mainly due to the surface hoar layers described in the snowpack summary.
Snowpack Summary
Light amounts of recent new snow has been redistributed by primarily southerly winds. Southerly faces in the alpine are scoured down to the ground or an early-season crust. In most areas, two or more preserved surface hoar layers can be found buried between 35 cm and 80 cm deep. They appear to be most prominent at treeline and below but have been observed in some alpine locations as well.Snowpack depths at treeline are variable across the region with generally deeper amounts (~150cm) in the western part and shallower (~80cm) in the eastern part.The snow surface is likely moist or crusty up to treeline. Below 1100 m there is very little snow.
Weather Summary
Saturday Night
Cloudy with 2-4 cm of snow, southwest wind 20-30 km/h, freezing level 1000m and treeline temperature -1 °C.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy with sunny breaks, westerly wind 10-25 km/h, high of -5 °C at treeline.
MondayMainly cloudy with 1-3 cm new snow, south and southwest wind 20-40 km/h, high of -4 °C at treeline.
TuesdayMostly cloudy with flurries, southeast wind 10-20 km/h, high of -3 °C at treeline.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
- Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
Avalanche Problems
Persistent Slabs
Several buried surface hoar layers can be found 35 to 80 cm below the snow surface. This is only seems to be a problem above 1200m.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2.5
Wind Slabs
Recent light snowfall amounts have slowly accumulated and been redistributed into open areas and in the lee of ridgelines.
Aspects: North, North East, East, West, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2