South Columbia

With great powder comes great responsibility. Friday's increasing avalanche danger demands conservative terrain selection and constant awareness of overhead hazards.

High -

Thursday night: Flurries bringing approximately 5 cm of new snow. Moderate to strong southwest winds.Friday: Flurries bringing about 20 cm of new snow. Strong southwest winds. Freezing level to 1400 metres with alpine temperatures of -4.Saturday: Cloudy with scattered flurries and up to 5 cm of new snow. Light to moderate southwest winds. Freezing level to 500 metres with alpine temperatures of -8.Sunday: Scattered flurries bringing 5-10 cm of new snow. Moderate to strong south winds. Freezing level to 300 metres with alpine temperatures of -8.

Reports from Wednesday include numerous storm slab, wind, slab, and loose dry avalanche observations, with both natural and ski cut triggers. These slides have typically ranged from Size 1-2 with crown fractures generally in the 15-30 cm range. An observation of one of these deeper slides identifies our mid-February interface as the failure plane, with several similar reports coming from the adjacent North Columbias. Looking forward, Friday's weather can be expected to produce very touchy avalanche conditions, especially in wind affected areas. Avalanche danger will also increasingly affect lower elevation terrain where loose dry and storm slab avalanche hazards continue to build.

Ongoing snowfall has delivered a wide-ranging 25-60 cm of new snow to the region, with the greatest accumulations occurring in the Monashees. Moderate to strong southerly winds have accompanied the new snow, promoting wind slab formation in lee terrain at upper elevations. The new snow has buried widespread faceted surface snow as well as more isolated surface hoar to 4mm. A thin sun crust may exist below the new snow on steep solar aspects. About 50-100cm below the surface you'll likely find the mid-February interface which is composed of a thick rain crust up to about 1800 m, sun crusts on steep solar aspects, and spotty surface hoar on shaded aspects. This layer could develop into a persistent slab problem once the snow above it settles into a stiffer slab. The mid and lower snowpack are generally well settled and stable.