Avalanche Forecast

Low - Due to the number of field observations

Monday: Cloudy with flurries bringing 5-15 cm of new snow, increasing overnight. Strong southwest winds. Alpine temperatures around -6.Tuesday: Mainly cloudy with flurries bringing 5-10 cm of new snow. Moderate to strong southwest winds. Alpine temperatures around -6Wednesday: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries bringing a trace to 5 cm of new snow, increasing over the day. Freezing level rising to 1300 metres with alpine temperatures around -3.

One report from Wednesday describes several estimated Size 2.5-3 avalanches observed on the Kathlyn face of Hudson Bay Mountain. A recent report from social media showed a Size 2 avalanche that occurred last Monday in alpine terrain in the Babines. In spite of its age, the slide is notable for apparently having run on the late October persistent weak layer. No other new avalanches have been reported. Please post your observations to the Mountain Information Network. (MIN)

Snowpack depths over the south of the region are above average for late November, with total depths of approximately 150 cm present at treeline elevations and above. The past week of stormy weather delivered about 60 cm of new snow to form the upper snowpack in the region. A thin rain crust may exist at mid-depth within this new snow. Below the new snow, about 20-30 cm of settled storm snow lies above the widespread late October crust. This October crust is present near the base of the snowpack at all elevations and features a layer of weak, sugary grains above it. This "crust/facet combo" layer remains an ongoing concern for step-down potential from large triggers such as a storm slab release. This layer is less of a concern below treeline where it is broken up by vegetation near the ground.