Destructive persistent weak layers should still be on your radar if you're heading to the north of the region.
Weather Forecast
Monday: Cloudy with flurries and clearing in the afternoon. The freezing level is around 500-700 m and winds are light from the SW. Tuesday: A mix of sun and cloud. The freezing level remains near 500 m and winds are light and variable. Wednesday: Periods of snow. The freezing level is around 800-1000 m and winds are moderate from the S-SE.
Avalanche Summary
There were no new reports of avalanches in the northern part of the region on Saturday. In the Coquihalla, where there was much more snow on Friday, there were reports of several soft storm slabs up to size 2 that were failing within the fresh storm snow. On Thursday, slab avalanches to size 3.5 were observed on a variety of aspects and elevations. These occurred in response to heavy storm loading from rain and snow. The mid-January surface hoar was the suspected culprit in many of these avalanches. Of note was a size 4 slab avalanche in Steep Creek in the Duffey Lake area.
Snowpack Summary
In the south, 40-70 cm of recent storm snow sits on a widespread and generally supportive rain crust that was buried on Jan. 28. The bond to the crust appears to be fairly good but at least one notable storm snow weakness was observed 10 cm above the crust. Fresh pockets of wind slab may also form in immediate lee features. The combination of heavy storm loading, rain, and warm temperatures likely flushed out the mid-January persistent weakness in most areas in the Cascades. Further north, generally 20-40 cm of dry storm snow overlies the late-Jan rain crust below around 1800-2000 m. Above this elevation the new snow sits on settled storm snow or previously wind affected surfaces. Fresh pockets of wind slab are likely in exposed lee terrain. Where it still exists, the mid-January surface hoar layer is between 60 and 130 cm below the surface. This persistent weakness could be lingering on higher elevation slopes that did not previously avalanche and triggering remains a concern.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.