Limited observations mean that uncertainty reigns in the Cariboos. Watch for signs of slab formation in the uppermost layer of snow and expect a touchy weak layer hiding beneath it around treeline elevations.
Weather Forecast
Saturday night: Mainly cloudy with light southwest winds.Sunday: Cloudy with sunny periods. Light to moderate south winds. Alpine high temperatures around -3.Monday: Cloudy with scattered wet flurries bringing 5-10 cm of new snow to upper elevations. Light rain below about 1600 metres. Strong south winds. Alpine high temperatures increasing to around 0 with freezing levels rising to about 2000 metres.Tuesday: Cloudy with scattered wet flurries bringing a trace to 10 cm of new snow to upper elevations. Light rain below about 1600 metres. Alpine high temperatures around 0 with freezing levels remaining near 2000 metres before dropping in the afternoon.
Avalanche Summary
No recent avalanches have been reported in the region, however early season conditions have been limiting observations of the backcountry.
Snowpack Summary
Light snowfall over Thursday and Friday brought recent storm snow totals to about 30-35 cm and total alpine snowpack depths to around 120-190 cm. The storm snow overlies a reportedly widespread layer of weak, feathery surface hoar crystals that formed during the clear period prior to the storm at treeline elevations and above. On steeper solar aspects, this surface hoar layer may instead exist as a thin sun crust below the storm snow. Below this variable layer, there is a basal crust from late October covering the ground. Snowpack depths taper quickly with elevation and below treeline elevations generally remain below threshold depths for avalanching
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.