Avalanche Forecast

THURSDAY NIGHT: 5-15 cm of new snow, moderate wind from the west, alpine temperatures drop to -8 C.

FRIDAY: Scattered flurries with 5-10 cm of new snow, moderate wind from the west, alpine high temperatures around -5 C.

SATURDAY: Cloudy with some light flurries, moderate wind from the southwest, alpine high temperatures around -5 C.

SUNDAY: Cloudy with 5-10 cm of new snow, light wind from the west, alpine high temperatures around -5 C.

On Wednesday numerous size 1-2 wind slab avalanches ran naturally on a variety of aspects and several small (size 1) slabs were human triggered on steep north and east facing slopes. A similar pattern of wind slab avalanches has been observed over the past few days.

30-60 cm of low density snow has fallen over the past week and has formed isolated wind slabs at higher elevation. The depth of new snow diminishes considerably at lower elevations. This snow sits above a rain crust with an upper extent that varies from 1900 m in some areas to mountaintop in others.

The mid and lower snowpack are generally well settled and strong, but contain two deeper weak layers that we have been tracking since the early part of the season. The late December surface hoar layer, buried 100 to 180 cm deep, is now suspected to be dormant. A facet/crust layer from November exists near the ground in the highest elevations of the region. It remains a limited concern that is likely only able to be triggered with a large load, in high elevation, thin snowpack areas of the Selkirks and the southern half of the region.

• Be careful as you transition into wind affected terrain.
• Use extra caution around cornices: they are large, fragile, and can trigger slabs on slopes below.