North Columbia

Pay attention to wind affected snow in open terrain where triggering avalanches is possible.

THURSDAY NIGHT: Scattered flurries with up to 5 cm of snow, moderate wind from the southwest, alpine temperatures drop to -16 C.

FRIDAY: Light flurries with some sunny breaks, light wind from the southwest, alpine high temperatures around -14 C.

SATURDAY: Scattered flurries with 5-10 cm of snow, moderate wind from the south, alpine high temperatures around -12 C.

SUNDAY: Light flurries with 5-15 cm of snow, moderate to strong wind from the south, alpine high temperatures around -8 C.

Recent weather has refreshed the wind slab problem on north and east lee features. Activity over the past few days has been limited to just a few small (size 1) wind slab avalanches on a variety of aspects. Last weekend there were a few notable reports of large persistent slab avalanches in the Selkirks and the northern tip of the Monashees (near Blue River and Valemount). The avalanches failed on a 100 cm deep surface hoar layer on north and east aspects between elevations of 1200 to 2100 m. Observations suggest this layer has trended towards being less reactive under the current conditions.

Fresh wind slabs can be found in open terrain, while soft powder exists in sheltered terrain. A layer of surface hoar is now buried 80-150 cm below the surface and could still be a concern in certain parts of the Selkriks and the northern end of the Monashees. A facet/crust layer from late November lingers near the bottom of the snowpack and has occasionally been reactive in isolated shallow snowpack areas.

• Avoid freshly wind loaded features, especially near ridge crests, roll-overs and in steep terrain.
• Approach steep open slopes at and below treeline cautiously, buried surface hoar may exist.