Regions
Northwest Coastal.
Outflow winds return. Lingering wind slabs in exposed terrain remain the main concern.
Confidence
Moderate - Wind speed and direction is uncertain
Weather Forecast
THURSDAY: Cloudy with some light flurries, strong outflow winds, treeline temperatures around -15 C. FRIDAY: Clearing throughout the day, moderate outflow winds, treeline temperatures around -17 C.SATURDAY: Sunny, moderate winds, treeline temperatures around -15 C.
Avalanche Summary
No recent avalanches have been reported. A skier remotely triggered a large wind slab (size 2) near the Shames area on Sunday. The avalanche was triggered on a steep south-facing rocky ridgetop at 1400 m.
Snowpack Summary
Strong outflow winds dramatically affected the surface snow over the past week, scouring some slopes down to an old crust and forming hard deposits in many other areas. Sheltered areas may still have 30 cm of powder from previous storms, but winds have come from a variety of directions and affected much of the terrain. Wind slabs rest on a variety of old surfaces including a thick melt-freeze crust. In some sheltered locations, soft feathery surface hoar crystals may sit above the crust.The snowpack is reported to be generally strong below this crust, with the possible exception of areas around Stewart and northern parts of the region where the late-October crust can be found deep in the snowpack. Weak sugary snow may exist around the crust and could be triggered from shallow snowpack areas.
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.