Avalanche Forecast

On Sunday near Terrace, a natural size 2.5 wind slab avalanche 50 cm deep was observed on a northeast-facing, steep, alpine slope.

There was lots of travel in the Shames backcountry with no reports of avalanches or instability.

On Saturday there were also several size 1 and 2 wind slab avalanches in steep terrain on north- and south-facing slopes at treeline and above. Often, these avalanches failed about 30 cm deep on the melt-freeze crust described in the Snowpack Summary.

New snow, and the previous 20 to 50 cm of soft snow, could be transported by north winds today. At upper elevations, previous winds were from the south, so you may find wind slab in any exposed, lee terrain features.

This overlies previous hard surfaces or a melt-freeze crust that extends up to 1800 m.

The remainder of the snowpack is reportedly strong with various hard crusts. Check out this MIN report describing conditions in the backcountry near Shames.

Snow depths vary throughout the region, ranging from 150 to 300 cm at treeline and tapering rapidly below.

Monday Night

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow in the southwest, northeast alpine wind 20 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -8 ºC.

Tuesday

Partly cloudy with trace snow, north alpine wind 15 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -8 ºC.

Wednesday

Partly cloudy with trace snow, north alpine wind 20 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -15 ºC.

Thursday

Mostly sunny with no precipitation, north alpine wind 40 to 60 km/h, treeline temperature -25 ºC.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
• Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
• Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.