Avalanche Forecast

Moderate -

Mostly sunny conditions are expected on Friday. Alpine winds are forecast to be light to moderate from the north and freezing levels are expected to be around 700 m. Mostly cloudy conditions are forecast for Saturday with sunny breaks in the morning and light snowfall in the afternoon or evening. Alpine winds are forecast to become strong from the northwest and treeline temperatures are expected to be around -10C. A mix of sun and cloud is forecast for Sunday with moderate northeast winds in the alpine and treeline temperatures around -15C.

Reports from Thursday during the storm highlight widespread natural storm slab and loose dry avalanches from steep terrain and wind loaded terrain. As of Thursday afternoon, most of the reported activity was size 1 soft slab avalanches but they are described as very touchy, widespread, and remote triggers have been observed.  On Friday, new storm slabs are expected to remain touchy, especially in wind load terrain and on steep slopes.  Extra caution is recommended on steep sun exposed slopes where the sun may cause the new snow to settle into a slab or trigger natural sluffing. 

Up to 50 cm of new low density snow is expected to accumulate by the end of the storm on Thursday. This brings the total storm snow amounts since Monday to 70-100 cm. Below the new snow from this week lies the Boxing Day interface which consisted of wind affected surfaces, faceted (sugary) snow, or surface hoar. Recent observations suggest the overlying snow is well bonded to this interface with exceptions for isolated areas where surface hoar may be preserved. Ongoing strong southerly winds during the storm have been loading leeward and cross loaded features in wind exposed terrain. The mid-December interface is now down 100-150 cm and is generally considered to be stable in most areas.