Coquihalla

Assess for new wind slabs as you gain elevation

Small wind slabs could be touchy due to the underlying weak layers

At the time of publishing, no new avalanches were reported in the past 5 days.

Up to 15 cm of new snow may accumulate by Sunday morning. This new snow will be accompanied by moderate southerly winds forming wind slab on north aspects. In sheltered terrain this new snow may overlie soft, faceted snow or surface hoar. In exposed terrain it will overlie a sun crust or wind-affected snow.

A weak layer from late January, buried 40 to 60 cm deep, is a hard crust in many areas but consists of facets or surface hoar on sheltered upper-elevation slopes. This layer has become reactive in snowpack tests.

A crust from December is buried 80 to 120 cm deep, with facets around it in shallow snowpack areas. Otherwise, the lower snowpack is strong and bonded.

Saturday Night

Cloudy with up to 10 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Sunday

Cloudy with 1 to 4 cm of snow. 10 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Monday

Mostly cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. 10 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy with 2 cm of snow. 10 to 25 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.
• Be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
• Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the old surface.
• Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind-loaded snow.