Avalanche Forecast

High - The snowpack structure is generally well understood.

Friday Night: Sunny with scattered clouds. Possible trace of snow expected. Light south ridgetop wind, trending to strong at higher elevations. Temperature inversion breaking down. Alpine temperature around -7 °C.

Saturday: Cloudy. 2-5 cm of snow expected. Moderate south ridgetop wind, trending to strong southwest at higher elevations. Alpine temperature around -7 °C.

Sunday: Mostly cloudy. Around 2 cm of snow expected overnight, and another 2-5 cm through the day. Strong to extreme south ridgetop winds. Freezing levels rising to 500 m. Alpine high around -6 °C.

Monday: Mostly cloudy. 0-2 cm of snow expected overnight, and a possible trace through the day. Light to moderate southwest ridge winds. Freezing level rising to between 500 m and 1000 m.

No new avalanches were reported on Friday before 4 pm. 

On Thursday, an AST 2 course directly observed size 1.5 natural windslab avalanche in the Miller Creek area near Hudson Bay Mountain. It occured on an east aspect in the alpine, just below a cornice. See their Mountain Information Network (MIN) post here for more information.

On Wednesday, an AST 2 course reported some natural windslab avalanches up to size 1.5 in steep alpine features, as well as several, size 1 natural loose dry avalanches, and rider triggered slab avalanches. For more info, see their MIN post here. Also, a professional operation northeast of Hazelton reported a few small, natural and rider triggered avalanches in wind effected storm snow at ridge crests, and in steep features.

Up to 5 cm of new snow is forecasted to fall through the day on Saturday with moderate to strong southerly ridgetop winds. These winds are likely to redistribute this new snow snow, and 10-20 cm of recent, low density snow. Expect small, reactive windslabs to form on lee slopes over a variety of old, generally wind effected surfaces. In sheltered areas, this new snow could be falling on surface hoar up to 15 mm, so we'll be keeping an eye on this potential weak layer as the snow load above it increases.

20-50 cm from the snow surface is a 10-20 cm thick rain crust which effectively caps the underlying snowpack, making human triggering of avalanches on weak layers deeper in the snowpack unlikely, but this crust has been breaking down in some locations, with faceting observed above and below it. Large loads like big chunks of falling cornice may now be able to trigger weak layers below the crust.

• Fresh wind slabs will likely form throughout the day, diligently watch for changing conditions.
• Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.
• Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
• Highmark or enter your line well below ridge crests to avoid wind loaded pillows.
• Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.