Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to how quickly the snowpack will recover and gain strength.

THURSDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy, light wind from the northwest, alpine temperatures drop to -15 C.

FRIDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, light wind from the east, alpine high temperatures around -10 C.

SATURDAY: Sunny, light wind from the north, alpine high temperatures around -10 C.

SUNDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, moderate wind from the west, alpine high temperatures around -7 C.

Some very large persistent avalanches have been reported over the past week. A size 3 avalanche was triggered by a snowmobiler in the Seaton area on Monday (northeast slope at 1800 m) and a size 3.5 avalanche was remotely triggered by a large snow machine near Kispiox on Saturday (southeast slope at 1700 m). Then on Wednesday, several size 2-3 avalanches were naturally triggered due to strong wind and mild temperatures. These avalanches have ran on both buried surface hoar layers and crust/facets at the bottom of the snowpack.

Some smaller (size 1) wind slabs were also triggered by riders on Wednesday.

Open terrain has been heavily affected by strong wind from the west. Crusts can be found on the surface up to roughly 1200 m and on open south-facing slopes. Some areas continue to have issues with weak layers that formed during cold weather in January. Depending on location these layers may be composed of soft facets or surface hoar and are typically are buried 60-120 cm below the surface. Crust/facet layers also lurk at the base of the snowpack, especially in shallower (eastern) areas. The most recent signs of instability with these deeper layers have been around Hazelton and Kispiox, but persistent weak layers could be a problem on slopes anywhere in the region. 

• Avoid shallow snowpack areas, rock outcroppings and steep convex terrain where triggering is most likely.
• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.