Avalanche Forecast

Good

An Arctic front will pass over the interior regions on Thursday morning and will result in light precipitation. A ridge of high pressure will build in the wake of the Arctic front and dry conditions are expected for Friday and Saturday.Thursday: Cloudy, light flurries 3-5cm, treeline temperatures around -6C, light variable winds at mountain topFriday: A mix of sun and cloud, dry conditions, treeline temperatures around -6C, winds 15-25 NW at mountain topSaturday: A mix of sun and cloud, dry conditions, treeline temperatures around -8C, winds 10-15 NW at mountain top

Isolated avalanche activity is being reported on Tuesday in the Rogers Pass area with two natural loose wet avalanches up to size 2 occurring on steep south facing slopes, likely triggered by the sun, and one natural cornice release on a NE aspect.  On Wednesday, a cornice was triggered with explosives near Revelstoke and did not result in a slab avalanche.

The upper and mid-snowpack are generally well consolidated and layers are well bonded. However, in thinner snowpack areas a facet/crust weakness may exist near the bottom of the snowpack and this remains a concern. The depth of this layer makes triggering an avalanche unlikely but the consequences would be large, destructive avalanches. This is referred to as a 'low probability, high consequence' event. We are recommending avoiding thin or rocky areas on steep, convex, unsupported slopes. In most areas, a widespread weak layer is now buried by a few centimetres of new snow. This weak layer consists of large surface hoar (widespread in most sheltered and shaded areas at all elevations), a sun crust on open south facing slopes, facet grains (in colder areas or areas with a thinner snowpack), or a combination of any of the above. This layer may become a problem in the future when we finally get more snowfall.