Avalanches are becoming harder to trigger but are most likely to fail on steep, wind-loaded slopes, particularly near ridgetops.
Previous easterly winds created thick wind slabs on leeward slopes. It's a good idea to investigate how well the windblown snow has bonded before entering committing terrain.
Wednesday: North of Stewart, a natural cycle of size 1.5 to 2.5 wind slab avalanches occurred on leeward south through west faces. Shooting cracks, which are a sign of instability, were also reported by snowmobilers. These wind slabs are becoming less reactive to human triggering as time passes.
Early season reports have been extremely limited, especially in areas near Terrace. Please consider submitting your observations to the Mountain Information Network.
Expect to find sastrugi and hard wind-scoured surfaces in all open wind-exposed areas at upper elevations. Thick wind slabs previously formed on many lee slopes, the greatest uncertainty lies in how long these slabs will take to bond. A rain crust from early November is buried 50 to 100 cm deep in the alpine. In isolated, sheltered areas, a layer of surface hoar may be found 60 cm+ deep.Snow depths vary across the region but generally range from 100 to 200 cm in the alpine and about 50 cm at 1000 m.
Saturday Night
Cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 15 to 20 km/h southeast wind. Treeline temperature 10 °C.
Sunday
Partly cloudy. 20 to 40 km/h northeast wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.
Monday
Mostly sunny. 15 km/h southeast wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h west wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
