Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Blue River, Central Selkirk, Clearwater, Clemina, Esplanade, Gold, Jordan, North Columbia, North Monashee, North Selkirk, Premier, South Columbia, Valhalla, Whatshan.
Start on small slopes and watch for signs of instability like shooting cracks or recent avalanches.
Verify conditions in your area, recent snowfall has varied across the region.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
On Friday, numerous small to large (up to size 2.5) human and naturally triggered avalanches were reported in the recent storm snow. Most of them occurred around treeline, and in some cases, an early January weak layer was mentioned as a possible factor.
Recently, there were reports of glide cracks opening up and glide slab avalanches up to size 2. Notably more than usual. This problem may exist only in these isolated features, but we'll see if a pattern emerges.
Snowpack Summary
Saturday's moderate northwest winds may have formed wind slabs on lee slopes at treeline and above.
In sheltered terrain, 50 to 40 cm of settling snow sits on a layer of weak, feathery crystals up to 10 mm in size (surface hoar), possibly even into the alpine. In some places this layer may include a crust due to solar effect or very high humidity.
A crust/facet/surface hoar layer (buried in early December) may be found 90 to 160 cm deep. It was previously most active south of Highway 5, but it no longer seems to be an avalanche problem for this forecast area.
Weather Summary
Saturday Night
Cloudy with light flurries. 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Sunday
Cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 15 to 25 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Monday
Mostly sunny. 20 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Possible temperature inversion above 2000 m. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Tuesday
Partly cloudy with light flurries. 20 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Possible temperature inversion above 1500 m. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Be alert to conditions that change with elevation, aspect, and exposure to wind.
- Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.
- Be aware of the potential for remote triggering and large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.
- Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Human triggerable wind slabs may be found below ridgetops and in cross-loaded terrain. A layer of surface hoar buried in early January may be reaching a tipping point as the load above it increases, which could lead to wide propagations.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2.5
Loose Dry
In areas where the recent snow hasn't formed wind slabs, it may still avalanche under the weight of a human, especially in steep terrain, or where it sits on a potentially weak layer of surface hoar.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Treeline, Below Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 1.5