South Coast Inland

The recent snow may not be bonding well to underlying layers, with many reports of small avalanches in wind-affected terrain. Travel conservatively, particularly if you notice snow with slab properties or see signs of instability.

High -

SUNDAY NIGHT: Clear skies, freezing level below valley bottom.MONDAY: Mostly clear skies, light northwest winds, alpine temperature -9 C, freezing level below valley bottom.TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy, light to moderate southwest winds, alpine temperature -5 C, freezing level rising to 1200 m.WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with light snowfall, accumulation 5 to 15 cm, moderate southwest winds, alpine temperature -4 C, freezing level 1200 m.

Numerous small to large (size 1 to 2) wind slabs were easily triggered by skiers near ridges on Saturday (for example see here). The snow was failing within the recent storm snow, 20 to 30 cm deep. One of these avalanches stepped down to a deeper layer (see link in Snowpack Summary).

Around 20 to 40 cm of snow recently fell in the region with the most around Coquihalla. The snow fell with associated strong southwest winds, which has produced wind affected snow surfaces in expose terrain. This recent snow fell onto a sun crust on southerly aspects, a temperature crust below around 1700 m on all aspects, and feathery surface hoar in areas sheltered by the wind at all elevation bands. The new snow may not bond well to these layers.Below this, the snowpack is generally well-settled. In certain parts of the region, you may still find a weak layer of surface hoar buried about 60 to 100 cm in sheltered areas around treeline. This layer was recently triggered by a skier in the north of the region (see here). In the south of the region, snowpack tests suggest that avalanches could still be triggered within the layer (see here).