Avalanche Forecast

Low

On Tuesday and Wednesday, two natural cornice-triggered size 3 slab avalanches occurred in steep terrain. At least one of these failed on the early-Dec weak layer. An older natural size 3 slab avalanche was also observed above Bryant Lake (MIN report).

On Tuesday, the field team observed two older size 2 wind slabs from the highway and an old snowmobile triggered size 2 in the Fraser Chutes.

Last week, a remotely triggered size 3 persistent slab occurred (MIN report).

Around 10 cm of new snow on Wednesday adds to the 30-50 cm of settling storm snow from the last week which can be found in sheltered terrain. Exposed terrain has been heavily wind-affected.

A weak layer of facets and a crust from early December is buried 80 to 140 cm deep. This layer exists on all aspects up to around 1700 m. This layer has shown recent reactivity, and we expect it to remain sensitive to heavy triggers and human triggering in shallow snowpack areas.

Check out this recent ACMG Mountain Conditions Report for more on the persistent weak layer problem.

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with snowfall 5-15 cm. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy with flurries. 30 to 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Friday

A mix of sun and cloud. 40 to 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with sunny breaks. 40 to 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.
• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
• If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
• Remote triggering is a concern; avoid terrain where triggering overhead slopes is possible.