Avalanche Forecast

Moderate -

THURSDAY NIGHT - Mainly clear / northeast wind, 10-25 km/h / alpine low temperature near -3 FRIDAY - Sunny with cloudy periods / northeast wind, 10-25 km/h / alpine high temperature near +2 / freezing level 2000 mSATURDAY - A mix of sun and cloud / light northwest winds / alpine high temperature near +4 / freezing level 2300 mSUNDAY - Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries / light southeast winds / alpine high temperature near +2 / freezing level 2000 m

On Wednesday, there were reports of a few size 1 loose wet avalanches in the Fernie area.On Sunday, there was a report near Fernie of a skier triggered, size 2.5 wet slab avalanche that began as a loose wet avalanche and then gathered mass which ran much further than expected through low angle terrain.

The snow surface is likely a crust everywhere but high elevation, north facing terrain, where the snow remains dry. The crust will likely break down (melt) during the day as temperatures rise and the sun comes out. The snowpack on sun exposed slopes in the alpine and all aspects at treeline and below is becoming moist or wet during the heat of the day. In these areas that have entered spring conditions, the avalanche hazard will fluctuate greatly depending on the strength of the overnight freeze and how quickly the snowpack is warmed up each day. Check out this guide to managing avalanche hazard during spring conditions HERE.In areas that remained more sheltered from the heat, like northerly aspects in the alpine, there may still be a dry snowpack with a well settled slab sitting on weak facets (sugary snow). Human triggering of persistent slabs on this layer may still be possible; especially in rocky alpine terrain with a shallow or highly variable depth snowpack.