Avalanche Forecast

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Flurries with 5-10 cm of snow, moderate southwest wind, treeline temperatures around -8 C.

THURSDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries and up to 5 cm of snow, strong southwest wind, treeline temperatures around -5 C.

FRIDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, moderate southeast wind, temperatures around -10 C.

SATURDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries and trace accumulations of snow, moderate south wind, temperatures around -8 C.

Since New Year's there have been steady reports of natural wind slab avalanches in alpine terrain (size 1-2), and some smaller human-triggered wind slab avalanches in lee terrain (size 1). There are good photos of these avalanches in recent MIN reports (e.g. here, here, here, and here). While there have been no reports of persistent slab avalanches since Dec 22, there have been reports of large whumpfs in the Hudson Bay, Hankin, and Babines area over the past few days, suggesting the buried weak layers are still possible to trigger.

Strong wind is moving around 40-60 cm of snow that has fallen since New Year's Day. Reactive wind slabs can be found in exposed open terrain, while lower density snow can be found in sheltered terrain. In some parts of the region this snow could be sitting above a surface hoar layer and forming isolated storm slabs on steep rolls in sheltered areas.

The lower snowpack has two crusts with potentially weak snow around them. Reports from the Smithers area suggest the upper crust is 60-90 cm below the surface and has shown signs of being possible to trigger from shallow areas. The other crust is near the bottom of the snowpack, and may be possible to trigger from shallow rocky slopes.

• Avoid freshly wind loaded features, especially near ridge crests, roll-overs and in steep terrain.
• Choose slopes that are well supported and have limited consequence.
• Be especially cautious near rock outcroppings, on steep convexities and anywhere the snowpack feels thinner than average.