Stick to conservative terrain, watch for signs of instability and avoid overhead hazards.
Recent very large avalanches have occurred in the region.
Wind and new snow have formed fresh and reactive slabs at upper elevations.
Avalanches in motion may step down to deeper layers in the snowpack.
A buried crust has produced a recent widespread cycle of natural and human-triggered avalanches in the region. Remote triggering and step-down potential are both a concern with this layer.
Dec 31
A very large naturally-triggered size 3.5 avalanche failed on the persistent weak layer.
Dec 30
A large (Size 2.5) remotely triggered persistent slab avalanche was reported in the Bullmoose riding area, near Tumbler Ridge. See the MIN for more details
A widespread natural avalanche cycle was reported in the Tumbler Ridge area, with avalanches up to size 2.5 on a variety of aspects.
A broad range of new snow amounts have fallen across the region, with isolated areas (around Pine Pass) receiving over 40 cm of snow over the last few days. This snow will be redistributed into deeper deposits in leeward alpine and treeline terrain by strong winds.
A persistent weak layer formed in mid-December that consists of a prominent crust with weak facets, was the cause of a recent large natural avalanche cycle. This layer is now buried 50 to 170 cm deep, depending on the aspect and wind loading.
In thin snowpack areas, faceted grains or depth hoar may exist at the base of the snowpack.
Check out this MIN post from the field team for more details on conditions at Core Lodge.
Thursday Night
Mostly cloudy. 2 to 3 cm of snow. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -11 °C.
Friday
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 5 cm of snow. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -14 °C.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 10 cm of snow. 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -14 °C.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 10 cm of snow. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -18 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
