The wind effect from the last storm seems to be highly variable. The best (and safest) riding may be found on sheltered slopes at treeline and below.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate - Wind effect is extremely variable
Weather Forecast
A fairly benign weather pattern is setting up for the forecast period. Light flurries are expected for Tuesday, but snowfall amounts shouldn't exceed 5cm. Isolated flurries with occasional sunny breaks are forecast for Wednesday and Thursday. Ridgetop winds are forecast to remain mainly light for all 3 days while alpine temperatures should hover between -12 and -15.
Avalanche Summary
On Sunday, we received a few reports of widespread natural and human-triggered wind slab avalanche activity to size 2. As the weather eases, so should natural wind slab avalanche activity. That said, human triggering will remain a concern for a few days.
Snowpack Summary
Throughout the weekend there was up to about 70cm of new snow in the Monashees and slightly less in the Selkirks. Strong to extreme southerly winds have redistributed much of this snow into deeper wind slabs in exposed lee features in the alpine and at treeline. In more sheltered terrain, I would expect deep powder and really good riding. Between 80 and 150cm below the surface you'll likely find a weak layer of well-developed surface hoar. This layer is most widespread and reactive at lower elevations (between 1400m and 1800m.) Snow pit tests suggest that human triggering of this interface has become unlikely. That said, if it does fail the overlying slab is stiff enough to propagate over a wide distance. Below this layer, the snowpack is thought to be generally strong and well-settled.
jlammers,
Avalanche Canada
