Certain slopes have potential for very large, destructive, persistent slab avalanches and even brief periods of exposure to the strengthening February sun may have a destabilizing affect. Carefully evaluate the snowpack and terrain before committing to avalanche terrain.
Recent storm snow is gradually gaining strength, but may remain reactive on steep wind loaded and sun-exposed slopes. Watch for the formation of fresh wind slabs as strong wind generally out of the west/southwest continues Monday.
Previous storms have agitated buried weak layers, resulting in some very large persistent slab avalanches. Although these avalanches are only possible in isolated locations, the consequences are severe. Recent areas of concern have been around Smithers, Kispiox and Hazelton, but any large steep slope should be approached with caution.
We’re moving into a period of high winds with dribs/drabs of precipitation.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Freezing level around 400 m, strong northwest wind, 1 to 5 cm of snow possible.
MONDAY: Overcast, freezing level around 700 m, strong west/southwest wind, trace of snow possible during the day, 2 to 8 cm expected Monday Night.
TUESDAY: A few clouds, freezing level at valley bottom, moderate to strong northwest wind, trace of snow possible.
WEDNESDAY: Scattered cloud cover, freezing level near valley bottom, moderate to strong southwest wind, trace of snow possible.
Over the weekend some touchy wind slabs were observed, check out the details here. The very large avalanche observed from Smithers is scary and is what we're pointing to in our Persistent Slab Avalanche Problem. We're glad that no one was harmed in this snowmobile triggered persistent slab avalanche. There are more impressive photos in the Northwest Inland MIN list which you can find here.
Isolated wind slabs and dry loose avalanches to size two were also reported on northerly aspects. A few natural very large (size 3) avalanches were observed in alpine features in the central portion of the region over the last few days too.
Some very large persistent avalanches have been reported over the past week. A size 3 avalanche was triggered by a snowmobiler in the Seaton area on Monday (northeast slope at 1800 m) and a size 3.5 avalanche was remotely triggered by a large snow machine near Kispiox on Saturday (southeast slope at 1700 m). Then on Wednesday, several size 2-3 avalanches were naturally triggered due to strong wind and mild temperatures. These avalanches have ran on both buried surface hoar layers and crust/facets at the bottom of the snowpack.
Some smaller (size 1) wind slabs were also triggered by riders on Wednesday.
Open terrain continues to be heavily affected by strong wind from the west. Crusts can be found on the surface up to roughly 1200 m and on open south-facing slopes. Some areas continue to have issues with weak layers that formed during cold weather in January. Depending on location these layers may be composed of soft facets or surface hoar and are typically are buried 60-120 cm below the surface. Crust/facet layers also lurk at the base of the snowpack, especially in shallower (eastern) areas. The most recent signs of instability with these deeper layers have been around Smithers, Hazelton and Kispiox, but persistent weak layers could be a problem on slopes anywhere in the region.
