Avalanche Forecast

Moderate

Dribs and drabs of snow are expected this week, with a pulse of 5-10 cm expected overnight Tuesday in the south. On Wednesday, a few flurries are expected. A Pacific frontal system due on Thursday may only bring snow to the western parts of the region. The freezing level drops from 1100 m to valley floor late on Tuesday. Moderate southerly winds become light by late Tuesday. For more details check out http://www.avalanche.ca/weather.

Pockets of wind slab and loose dry avalanches to size 1.5 were triggered naturally or under light loads on a variety of aspects in the alpine over the weekend.

15-25 cm of recent storm snow overlies a weak mix of surface hoar, facets, and sun crusts that were buried on January 4th. This storm snow is generally loose and unconsolidated in sheltered areas; however, strong winds are reported to have shifted these accumulations into reactive wind slabs at higher elevations. On the far western slopes of the region, considerably more snow may overlie the January 4th layer, and a more destructive and widespread slab may exist. For an idea of what may be happening there, I'd suggest also reading the bulletin for the neighbouring South Columbia region. Some operations continue to track deeper buried surface hoar from early December. While test results on deeply buried surface hoar continue to show planar results when hard forces are applied, there have not been any avalanches reported failing on this layer. I have removed the persistent weak layer problem from the front page, and we will continue to monitor reports from operators in this region. The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled and strong.