Avalanche Forecast

High - on Thursday

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy, light south wind, alpine temperatures drop to -10 C.THURSDAY: Scattered flurries with 5-10 cm of snow, light southeast wind, alpine high temperatures around -8 C. FRIDAY: Another 5 cm of snow, light southwest wind, alpine high temperatures around -4 C. SATURDAY: 5-15 cm of snow, strong southwest wind, freezing level climbing to 1300 m, alpine high temperatures around -2 C.

Activity since last weekend has been limited, consisting primarily of small loose snow avalanches (mostly on sunny slopes) and isolated cornice falls and wind slabs (mostly on north and east facing slopes).On Tuesday, a small cornice fall triggered a size 2 persistent slab avalanche. The avalanche occurred in north-facing glaciated terrain in the Selkirks and appeared to have stepped down to glacier ice (100-200 cm deep).

Recent warm alpine temperatures left crusty surfaces on southerly aspects, while the snow remained dry on northerly aspects. Old wind slabs and cornices could be lingering at higher elevations.The middle and lower portions of the snowpack are generally well-settled and strong. On southerly aspects you may find a thin sun crust with facets down around 50 cm. Recent sudden snowpack results indicate this layer could still be a failure plane on steep southerly slopes in thin snowpack areas. Professionals are also tracking a layer around 130 to 180 cm deep, composed of weak faceted grains, surface hoar, and a sun crust. The chance of triggering this layer is very low. In shallow snowpack areas, the base of the snowpack may also still be composed of weak faceted grains.