Avalanche Forecast

Low - Uncertainty is due to the timing of the incoming weather system. Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.

Friday night: Cloudy, flurries with 2-5 cm, moderate southwest winds, alpine temperature -2 C, freezing level around 1500 m.

Saturday: Cloudy, 5-15 cm of snow, moderate southwest wind, alpine high temperature -2 C, freezing level dropping from around 1500 m.

Sunday: Decreasing cloud cover, another 10-25 cm of snow possible overnight with isolated flurries continuing throughout the day, light northerly winds, alpine high temperature -4 C, freezing level at valley bottom

Monday: Cloudy with periods of sun, isolated flurries with a trace of accumulation, alpine high temperature -7 C, freezing level at valley bottom

There have been few recent avalanches reported in the region. A couple of small wind slabs triggered by explosives have been observed, and one stepped down to a weak layer buried deeper in the snowpack. 

If you are getting out into the mountains, let us know what you see by posting to the Mountain Information Network! 

The 2-5 cm of snow that fell Friday brings the total to 10-15 cm from this week's scattered flurries. Another 5-15 cm is forecast for Saturday with southwest winds that are likely to continue drifting snow into more cohesive slabs at upper elevations.

Crust layers from November and October can still be found deeper in the snowpack. As the load on these weak layers increases with new snow, they could become more reactive.

Snowpack depths are highly variable this early in the season with amounts ranging between 50-100 cm at higher elevations and tapering rapidly below treeline.