Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Northwest Coastal.
Confidence
High - The weather pattern is stable
Weather Forecast
Saturday: Sunny / Moderate east wind / Alpine temperature -16Sunday: Sunny / Moderate northeast wind / Alpine temperature -17Monday:Â Mix of sun and cloud / Light east wind / Alpine temperature -16More details can be found on the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Avalanche Summary
There are no recent reports of natural avalanche activity from the past few days in the southern and middle portions of the region. However, in the northern most parts of the region near Bell2 or Ningunsaw there are still reports of skier triggered avalanches stepping down to basal facets in the alpine and tree line.
Snowpack Summary
The snow from last week has been long redistributed by continuous strong winds to create widespread wind effect at upper elevations. At lower elevations, precipitation fell as rain and a surface (or near-surface) crust may now be found below about 1000m. Below the recent storm snow you'll likely find a couple of buried surface hoar layers from January 18th and January 23rd. These surface hoar layers continue to produce easy to hard sudden shears in snowpack tests, and should be approached with caution, especially in sheltered tree line terrain. The snowpack below this is generally strong and well settled. The exceptions are areas around Bear Pass and Ningunsaw where basal facets remain an ongoing concern.
Avalanche Problems
Persistent Slabs
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 2 - 3
Wind Slabs
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2