Kitimat

Continually assess conditions as you move through terrain

Cold temperatures are softening the upper snowpack, avalanches are most likely where the snowpack feels “slabby”

On Wednesday 1 size 2.5 remotely triggered persistent slab avalanche was reported. This avalanche was on a northwest aspect in the alpine and ran on the surface hoar from late January. A few natural wind slab avalanches up to size 1.5 were also reported.

No new slab avalanches were reported on Tuesday but numerous dry loose avalanches up to size 2 were observed in steep alpine terrain.

Strong to extreme northeast outflow wind has scour windward terrain at all elevations. In sheltered terrain 20 to 40 cm of snow overlies a surface hoar layer from late January.

Another layer of surface hoar was buried near the middle of January and can be found 30 to 50 cm deep.

A layer of facets and a crust from early December is buried  100 to 200 cm deep. This layer is generally not a concern in this region.

Thursday Night

Partly cloudy. 15 to 30 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -14 °C.

Friday

Mix of sun and clouds. 10 to 20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Saturday

Sunny. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Sunday

Sunny. 15 to 30 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -11 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
• Approach steep and open slopes at and below treeline cautiously, as buried surface hoar may exist.
• Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.
• Remote triggering is a concern; avoid terrain where triggering overhead slopes is possible.