Be sure to read the North Columbia - Monashees and Selkirks forecast if you're riding in the Cariboos just west of highway 5. Conditions could be quite similar, meaning slightly higher local avalanche danger.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
Monday: Cloudy with flurries in the morning and sunny breaks in the afternoon. The freezing level is around 1500 m and ridge winds are light from the NW. Tuesday: Mainly sunny. The freezing level is around 1400-1500 m and ridge winds are light to moderate from the W-SW. Wednesday: Mainly sunny. The freezing level is around 1500-1600 m and ridge winds are light to moderate from the W-SW.
Avalanche Summary
Avalanche activity (and/or reports) tapered off on Saturday with only a couple small size 1 skier-controlled wind slabs reported. On Friday, wind loading followed by solar radiation resulted in a size 3.0 natural storm slab avalanche on a south aspect in the alpine. Another natural cornice fall size 2.0 was reported on Thursday from a north aspect in the alpine, it was also reported that this cornice did not release a storm slab on the slope below.
Snowpack Summary
About 40-60 cm of snow fell over the past week. You may find a wind-affected surface in exposed terrain, or a sun crust/moist snow on solar aspects depending on the time of day. Below the storm snow you are likely to find a melt-freeze crust. This crust exists in most places except for higher elevation shaded terrain. In many areas there seems to be a reasonable bond between the crust and the overlying snow. I'd still keep an eye on this interface as it has become reactive on some features. Surface hoar buried in early January now lies up to 180cm below the surface and has become less of a concern. Possible triggers for this deep and destructive layer include a large cornice fall or significant warming from periods of strong solar radiation.
pmarshall,
Avalanche Canada
