Avalanche Forecast

Moderate

• Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.
• Recent weather patterns have resulted in a high degree of snowpack variability within the region.

Field observations remain limited, with poor visibility restricting observations over the past few days.

Besides some sluffing in steep terrain, there have been no reports of avalanche activity in recent days, despite the accumulating storm snow.

In neighboring regions to the north of Highway 16 and to the south of Kinbasket, large (size 2+) wind slabs have been observed on north to east aspects at upper elevations, triggered both naturally and artificially.

40 to 80 cm of recent snow overlies a prominent hard crust formed in mid-December that extends up to 2200 m. Continued wind has redistributed the recent snow in exposed terrain at treeline and in the alpine.

Where the crust is thick and supportive, it effectively caps a few of the mid-snowpack instabilities, making them difficult to trigger. These include a spotty surface hoar layer and a crust/facet layer from mid-November. These layers may still be a concern in the high alpine, where the crust is thin or nonexistent.

Snowpack depth is around 160 cm at treeline, tapering with elevation below 1500 m.

Monday Night
Cloudy. 5 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Tuesday
Partly cloudy. Up to 2 cm of snow. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Wednesday
Cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Thursday
Partly cloudy. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
• Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.
• Choose low-angled, sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.