Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Confidence is due to a stable weather pattern; little change is expected for several days. Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.

Mild weather for the forecast period with mainly cloudy skies, occasional sun breaks and continued cool temperatures as high pressure influences the region.  

Friday night: Mainly clear. Alpine low temperatures near -8C and freezing levels valley bottom. Ridgetop wind light to moderate from the east. 

Saturday: Mainly cloudy with sun breaks and isolated flurries. Alpine high temperatures near -8C and freezing levels valley bottom. Ridgetop wind light from the east. 

Sunday: A mix of sun and clouds with isolated flurries. Alpine temperatures near -7C and freezing levels valley bottom. Ridgetop wind light to moderate from the south. 

Monday: A mix of sun and clouds. Alpine temperatures near -6C and freezing levels valley bottom. Ridgetop wind light to moderate from the south.

No new reports on Thursday or Friday.

A MIN report submitted on Tuesday showed a deep release from a leeward high alpine feature. The deep persistent slab problem may be isolated, however; a high consequence exists if you find yourself involved in an avalanche of this size.

Last Sunday a human triggered slab avalanche size 2 was reported which started as a wind slab or storm slab and then stepped down to the early December persistent weak interface. The person was caught and partially buried. Reports from last Saturday continued to highlight the instability of slabs that have formed above the early December rain crust. 

Please consider sharing your observations to the Mountain Information Network. Thank you to those that have already submitted this winter!

Recent winds and up to 10 cm of new snow have scoured some areas have built stiff wind slabs in others. Locations that have not been stripped by the wind likely have 30-50 cm of snow above an early-December melt-freeze crust with weak and sugary faceted grains around it. This layer has featured in several avalanche reports that can be found on the MIN. This interface is has been reactive to human triggering in the last week and produces size 2 avalanches.

A crust that was buried in early November sits near the base of the snowpack. This crust has weak facets associated with it. These facets have produced large avalanches in both the south and north of the region. This MIN report from December 22 highlights a deep release avalanche and the variable snowpack depths.

Snowpack depths vary substantially with aspect, elevation, and wind exposure.

• Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
• If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
• In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.
• Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of a buried crust.