Clues to mountain hazards are currently quite apparent on the surface. Tune in to overhead hazards, moist snow, and lingering wind slabs as you travel and watch for the destabilizing effect of sun exposure.
Weather Forecast
Friday: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries and a trace of new snow, increasing overnight. Light southwest winds becoming strong at ridgetop. Freezing level to 2100 metres with alpine high temperatures around -1 to 0.Saturday: Cloudy with continuing flurries bringing4-10 cm of new snow. Moderate to strong west winds. Freezing level to 1700 metres with alpine high temperatures around -4.Sunday: A mix of sun and cloud. Light northwest winds. Freezing level to 1800 metres with alpine high temperatures around -3.
Avalanche Summary
Reports from Wednesday included an observation of a natural size 2 cornice release from a north aspect in the north of the region. Numerous natural loose wet avalanches were also observed on sun-exposed aspects in the Monashees.Tuesday's reports showed numerous small (size 1) storm slabs releasing both remotely and with ski cutting. Crown fractures were in the 35-40 cm range and activity was observed at all elevations and on all but west aspects.On Sunday, warm temperatures initiated widespread natural storm slab and loose wet avalanche activity on all aspects below 2300 m.In addition to heightened storm slab activity following regular snowfalls, observations from late last week also showed a pattern of heightened cornice failure activity. Reports of 'bus sized' blocks found in debris as well as a suspected cornice-triggered size 4 wind slab release in the adjacent North Columbias and Glacier National Park should keep these looming giants top of mind.Looking forward, continued warm temperatures will be maintaining elevated chances of loose wet avalanche and cornice activity before another round of snowfall introduces new surface instabilities over Friday night and Saturday.
Snowpack Summary
About 70-100 cm of rapidly settling storm snow overlies a crust on all aspects to at least 2300 m (and possibly higher on south-facing slopes). Within the upper snowpack there are now a few different crusts with the shallowest of these (down 30-50 cm) becoming a diminishing concern as warm temperatures promote settlement and bonding in the upper snowpack.With warm daytime temperatures and poor overnight recovery of cold temperatures, there remains some lingering concern around the mid-March persistent weak layer in the alpine where it is found 80 to 120 cm below the surface. This buried crust/surface hoar interface was widely reactive but is likely trending towards dormancy. It should be kept in the back of our minds for its capability to produce large avalanches should it be triggered with a heavy load such as a snowmobile or cornice collapse.Deeper persistent weak layers from December and January are considered dormant at this time.
Problems
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
Cornices
Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.
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.