Avalanche Forecast

Moderate -

Sunday: Mainly sunny. Light north winds. Alpine temperatures around -13.Monday: Mainly sunny. Light north winds. Alpine temperatures around -16.Tuesday: A mix of sun and cloud. Light southwest winds. Alpine temperatures around -16

No new avalanches have been reported in the region. Touchy conditions were reported from the North Thompson area of the Cariboos on Thursday, where steep banks in lower elevation cutblocks were observed releasing 'remotely' (from a distance) over the December 15 surface hoar layer. In the adjacent North Monashees, natural wind slab and storm slab releases were reported up to Size 2.5 on Wednesday.In addition to wind slab problems at higher elevations, persistent slab avalanche danger can be expected to persist in areas where our recent snow has consolidated into a slab above the December 15 interface. Please submit your observations to the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Last week's stormy weather brought 20-40cm of new snow to the region. Shifting winds (most recently from the north) have redistributed the new snow into wind slabs on a variety of aspects at higher elevations while cold temperatures have inhibited slab formation in wind-sheltered areas. The new snow lies over a variety of old surfaces, including large surface hoar (weak, feather-like crystals), crusts formed by sun or wind, and sugary facets. The bond at this old snow interface is of critical importance in areas where the overlying snow has consolidated into a slab. The most concerning areas areas will be those that have seen previous surface hoar development, such as sheltered areas at and below tree line.A crust which was formed by rain in late November is another major feature in the snowpack and is down approximately 70-100cm at tree line elevations. Snowpack tests suggest the snow above is currently bonding well to it.