Microwave-Sinclair

Look for areas with soft snow on the surface and be cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.

As always, it's best to avoid areas where the snowpack transitions from thin to thick.

On Sunday, skiers were involved in an avalanche in the East Boulder Creek area north of Smithers. Check out This MIN report for more details.

Looking forward, we expect that the chance of avalanches is low until significant new snow and increasing temperatures show up with the next storm.

5-10 cm of recent snow is sitting on an old wind affected snow surface in exposed terrain at treeline and alpine elevations. At treeline and below a layer of surface hoar has now been covered by this new snow.

In sheltered terrain, 20 to 60 cm of faceted snow is sitting on a crust and in places surface hoar.

A layer of facets on top of a crust from early December is buried approximately 70 to 110 cm deep. This layer is generally not a concern in this region at this time.

Wednesday Night

Mostly cloudy. 30 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature - 5 °C.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy with up to 2 cm of snow, possibly more on the far west edge of the forecast area. 35 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high -1 °C. Freezing level rising to 1200 m by the end of the day.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with 7 to 10 cm of snow. Rain below 500 m. 35 to 45 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline high 0 °C.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy with 8 to 15 cm of snow. Rain below 1000 m. 40 to 70 km/h ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Periods of low danger may be a good time to increase your exposure.
• Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.
• Wind slabs are isolated, but may remain reactive.