Avoid wind-exposed slopes and you'll likely find cold, blower pow. Wind slabs are the main avalanche concern. Consider that ANY problem could get amplified into an emergency on these cold, short days.
With plenty of soft, light snow available for wind transport, expect to see wind slab formation in the alpine and open areas near treeline.
Continued north or northwest wind means atypical cross-loading and reverse loading patterns. Be especially cautious near ridgetops.
Cold arctic air will persist until Saturday afternoon. The weekend weather could be quite wild, and vary greatly through the forecast region.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear. No new snow expected. Moderate to strong northwest wind. Treeline temperatures around -8 C.
FRIDAY: Mostly sunny. No new snow expected. Light to moderate northwest wind with possible strong winds at higher elevations. treeline temperatures around -7 C.
SATURDAY: Overcast. 2-10 cm of snow expected. Extreme southwest wind. Freezing levels rising to 500m
SUNDAY: A mix of sun and cloud. 15-50 cm of snow expected overnight, with another 0-15 through the day. Moderate to strong southwest winds. Freezing level rising to 1100 m overnight, dropping back to 500 during the day.
On Thursday, our Vancouver Island field team reported a size 1, naturally triggered windslab avalanche in the Mt. Adrian area. It was 10-20 cm deep and started just below a ridge top. You can find more info from them on their facebook page, on instagram, or on the Mountain Information Network.
Windslabs can be most reactive when they are fresh, so continually evaluate conditions as you travel.
No new avalanches were reported on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Earlier this week there were some reports of small (size 1) loose dry avalanches (sluffs) and some small isolated wind slab avalanches.
Plenty of soft, light snow available for transport, and recent northwesterly winds have created wind slabs in atypical cross-loading and reverse loading patterns.
Sometimes wind slab stabilizes with time, or facets out with cold temperatures. In this case, continued wind and top-ups of cold, low density snow keeps building fresh slabs.
30-50 cm now sits over a freezing rain crust below 1500 m and above this elevation it may rest on a layer of large surface hoar crystals. Our field team reported easy shears on this layer in their MIN report last week.
The lower snowpack is generally well bonded.
