Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, South Coast Inland, Stein, Taseko.
Keep an eye on the effects of warming and solar input throughout the day
Avalanche activity will likely increase when the snow surface feels moist
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No slab avalanches were reported in the past 3 days.
Snowpack Summary
A widespread crust exists on or near the surface on most aspects and elevations. A crust may not exist on north aspects above 2100 m.
The snow surface will likely become moist during the day on all aspects and elevations except for high north facing slopes.
Around 40 cm of settled snow sits over a weak layer of facets, surface hoar and sun crust buried in mid February.
Another weak facet/crust/surface hoar layer, from late January, is buried 60 to 80 cm deep.
Weather Summary
Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy with trace amounts of snow. 10 to 20 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Thursday
Sunny. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 1500 m.
Friday
Mix of sun and cloud. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.
Saturday
Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 50 to 70 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Avoid thin areas like rocky outcrops where you're most likely to trigger avalanches on deep weak layers.
- Be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
- Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.
- Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
Avalanche Problems
Persistent Slabs
Buried weak layers are becoming harder to trigger, but consequences remain high. The most likely places to trigger them will be anywhere that doesn't have a supportive crust at the surface, such as high north aspects.
Aspects: North, North East, East, West, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 3
Loose Wet
Wet loose avalanches will increase in likelihood throughout the day with rising freezing level and solar input. These avalanches are unlikely on high north facing terrain.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 1.5
Wind Slabs
Small rider triggerable wind slabs could be found at higher elevations.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 1.5