Avalanche Forecast

Moderate

On Monday, a fatal skier-triggered avalanche incident occurred in the Selkirk range near Revelstoke. The avalanche was on an east aspect at 1900 m. It occurred on a steep, unsupported open slope below treeline and failed on a weak layer of surface hoar buried in early January. This was a size 2 with a crown depth of 50 cm.

Numerous natural and human-triggered wind slabs were also observed on Sunday through Tuesday throughout the region, ranging in size from 1.5-2.5. One of these avalanches in the south of the region resulted in a partial burial. These avalanches mainly occurred on east and northeast aspects in the alpine and treeline.

High-consequence avalanche activity has been ongoing for several weeks. Your best defence is to stay diligent in choosing low-consequence terrain. Stick to slopes that have been heavily trafficked throughout the winter and avoid venturing into untouched zones. Stay disciplined and adjust your expectation for this winter.

New snow continues to gradually accumulate. 5-15 cm recent snow covers a layer of surface hoar around treeline and higher, and a crust on steep solar aspects. A thick rain crust is now buried 10-40 cm up to 1700 m around Revelstoke and increasing to 2000 m travelling south through the region.

Two persistent weak layers in the middle of the snowpack may remain reactive to human triggering. They are both surface hoar layers that formed in early January and are typically found 40-90 cm deep throughout the region. There are also some deeper facet and surface hoar layers that formed in December, but recent snowpack observations suggest they are strengthening.

The bottom of the snowpack is made up of large weak facets buried in late November, which has caused a deep persistent slab problem for this region.

Upslope conditions Thursday night into Friday may produce larger snowfall accumulations on the eastern slopes of the Monashees. Isolated hot spots around Monashee Pass and between Shuswap Lake to Lake Revelstoke could accumulate upwards of 25 cm by 4 pm Friday.

Thursday night

Cloudy with isolated flurries, 5-10 cm. Ridge wind northwest 10-20 km/hr. Alpine low temperature -8 C. Freezing level dropping to valley bottom.

Friday

Scattered flurries, 5-15 cm. Ridge wind north 10-30 km/hr. Alpine temperature -8 C. Freezing level valley bottom.

Isolated flurries clearing into blue skies. Ridge wind northeast 10-20 km/hr. Alpine temperature -15 C.

Sunny. Ridge wind northeast 5-15 km/hr. Alpine temperature -20 C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
• Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present and have produced recent large avalanches.
• Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.