Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Due to the number of field observations

The cold arctic ridge of high pressure will persist over the interior regions for the next several days.Sunday: Alpine temperatures around -25C, a mix of sun and cloud, very light snowfall possible, moderate to strong alpine winds from the NorthMonday/Tuesday: A slight warming trend but cold temperatures will persist, mostly cloudy with some light snowfall, moderate to strong alpine winds from the North

No new avalanches reported since Thursday

Snowpack depths are typically 100-140 cm at treeline elevation. The old storm snow (~30-60cm) overlies the late-November interface which typically consists of sun crusts on steep south facing slopes and surface hoar in sheltered areas. Some buried surface hoar has been reported on south aspect slopes near Revelstoke. These weak layers are expected to be persistent, although in many areas the upper slab is not yet stiff enough for slab avalanches. When temperatures rise, and we get additional snow, expect this interface to become a more dangerous problem. Strong NE winds after the storm caused reverse loading and wind slab formation on SE through W aspects in wind exposed areas. Lower snowpack layers include a surface hoar layer roughly 60cm above the ground and an early season rain crust at the base of the snowpack. While these layers have recently become inactive, residual risk of large, destructive avalanches exists, especially in areas with a thinner snowpack. The October crust can be found in the alpine on north aspects and the early November surface hoar appears to be isolated and drainage specific.