Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Saturday: Mainly cloudy with scattered flurries bringing up to 5 cm of new snow. Moderate southeast winds. Freezing level to 1800 metres with alpine temperatures of -2.Sunday: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries with a trace of new snow. Light southwest winds. Freezing level to 1800 metres with alpine temperatures of -2.Monday: A mix of sun and cloud. Light variable southerly winds. Freezing level to 1900 metres with alpine temperatures around -2.

No new avalanches have been reported in the region. Please post your observations to the Mountain Information Network.On Wednesday we had reports of several loose wet avalanches to Size 2 running on north aspects in the alpine in the Duffey Lake area. The new snow was especially reactive to ski cutting on solar (south) aspects, running easily on the Easter crust. On Tuesday we had reports of small, loose wet avalanches, pinwheeling and plenty of avalanche debris in the Coquihalla zone. See here for the MIN report.

Friday's warm temperatures and sunshine moistened surface snow on most aspects and elevations. Warm overnight temperatures will prevent it from refreezing into a solid crust. Below the surface, stormy weather over the beginning of the week brought about 20-30 cm of new snow to the region, with this precipitation falling as rain below about 1500m. Southerly winds over the same time period created pockets of wind slab in the alpine and exposed features at treeline, in addition to building fragile new cornice growth. The recent snow has gradually formed a good bond to the 'Easter crust' that exists below it on south aspects at all elevations. The mid and lower snowpack are generally well settled and strong, but basal weaknesses in the far north of the region remain a concern. With that said, the possible triggers for deep weaknesses in this part of the region are likely limited to large cornice falls or a prolonged warming event.