Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Cariboos, Clearwater, Kakwa, McBride, McGregor, North Rockies, Pine Pass, Quesnel, Renshaw, Robson, Sugarbowl, Tumbler.
Come prepared with lots of warm layers, hot drinks and a headlamp when venturing out. Cold temperatures and short days can turn even small incidents like broken equipment into a very bad time.
Our team installed three weather stations in this region last week. Check out our weather station blog to learn more!
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were reported on Monday.
On Sunday, a few small wind slabs up to size 1 were released by skiers.
On Saturday, an avalanche was reported via MIN from the Barkerville area. The avalanche looked to be a size 1.5 and at least 24 hours old.
Please continue to share any observations or photos on the Mountain Information Network!
Snowpack Summary
Cold temperatures are faceting the upper snowpack. 5-10 cm of snow was redistributed by recent strong northeasterly winds and formed wind slabs in exposed areas. In very sheltered areas, new snow sits on a weak layer of preserved, 5 mm large surface hoar. The distribution of this weak layer is uncertain.
40-80 cm of snow continues to settle over a generally weak, sugary mid and lower snowpack. Snowpack depths are highly variable, ranging from 80-180 cm in the alpine. Below treeline, the snowpack is thin and sugary, making it a challenge to access terrain in many areas without damaging your sled or skis.
Weather Summary
Tuesday Night
Clear and dry, 20-30 km/h northeast wind, temperature low around -35 °C.
Wednesday
Sunny and dry, 30 km/h northeast wind, temperature high at -30 °C.
Thursday
Sunny with some cloudy periods, 30 km/h westerly wind in the northern half of the region and 20 km/h southeast wind in the south, temperature high around -27 °C.
Friday
Mainly cloudy, up to 3 cm new snow, southerly wind increasing to 50 km/h, temperatures rising to -20 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Be especially cautious near rock outcroppings, on steep convexities and anywhere the snowpack feels thinner than average.
- Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
- Carefully evaluate bigger terrain features on an individual basis before committing to them.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Strong northeasterly wind redistributed available snow into wind slabs on lee features and stripped windward areas. Watch for pockets of cohesive snow in exposed terrain at upper elevations, around ridges and convex rolls.
Aspects: North, South East, South, South West, West, North West.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2