Selkirk Mountains

Avalanche conditions remain status quo and generally safe. If you choose to travel in steep, complex terrain, use proper travel protocol and carry avalanche rescue gear. Even a small, isolated slide that knocks you off your feet or machine and sends you for a long tumble on the firm or icy surface can be bad in the wrong terrain.

Avalanche conditions remain quiet across our forecast zones. Although the hazard hasn’t changed in the last two weeks, the snowpack is quietly evolving with each passing day. These subtle changes are not moving the avalanche needle right now, but are setting the stage for a significant shift in conditions once winter returns and stacks a slab above. This will likely pump the brakes, or rule out altogether, the terrain we’ve been recreating in recently.

The long stretch of warm, sunny days followed by clear, cold nights has created the perfect environment for facet development and surface hoar growth. This is happening directly above and below the “spoiler” crust that formed on January 13 after many days of snowfall transitioned to light rain and sleet over mountain tops, then temperatures froze hard. 

Depth of faceting below the crust ranges 8 to 12 inches and is generally Fist to 4F hard. The crust on northerly, wind-sheltered slopes is becoming less supportive than on sunnier slopes and it may not tolerate the same future load as where the crust is thicker and more supportive. On top of the crust, the next batch of large surface hoar is budding like spring flowers. Observations from across the region report feather growth around 10 mm in size and larger ones near creek bottoms and in open depressions at mid elevations.

Make sure to keep your avalanche brain engaged and continue to use good travel habits. If you get out and about, please consider dropping us an observation HERE or through the AvyApp. Something as simple as describing the weather and surface conditions goes a long way to help our forecast products and your local avalanche community. We have received some very helpful public observations recently, and we look forward to more.

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IPAC is now on the Avy app! View, submit, and share observations on the go using the AvyApp. Your backcountry observations are critical for building our avalanche forecasts. Avy provides a centralized location for core trip planning, and you can view streamlined, up-to-date avalanche and weather forecasts for your selected zone, using offline caching. Download Avy today - App Store and Google Play.