Rising freezing levels and direct sun could weaken the snowpack on southerly aspects.
Minimize your exposure time to overhead avalanche terrain as temperatures increase.
Shallow rocky areas should still be considered suspect.
The recent snow remained unconsolidated with calm winds. Warm temperatures and strong sun may create wet loose avalanches on steep south-facing slopes. Keep in mind, that wet loose avalanches may start small, but they can grow and push you into dangerous terrain.
We suspect that wet loose avalanches occurred Tuesday on south aspects throughout the region, as conditions were clear and sunny.
Few natural dry loose avalanches (size 1) were released within the light snow from steep alpine terrain over the weekend.
A slab avalanche (size 1.5) was triggered by a snowmobiler near York Creek on Friday on a short but steep northerly slope below treeline.
If you have any observations from this data-sparse region, let us know what you are seeing by submitting a report to the Mountain Information Network.
The region received 20-25 cm of recent snow since Saturday, which has settled quickly since then. This overlies a crust on solar aspects, faceted snow and surface hoar (up to 10 mm) in shaded and wind-sheltered areas. Wind-affected surfaces are also found in exposed areas. At lower elevations, a crust exists near the surface.
A melt-freeze crust with facets above can be found 50 to 120 cm deep, but it has not produced any recent avalanche activity in the region.
The weak layer at the base of the snowpack produced some large avalanches with strong sun and warm temperatures last week. Professionals are still tracking it to watch for signs of it waking up.
The region will be under a building ridge of high pressure, with calm and dry conditions for the next few days.
Tuesday night
Mainly clear. Low alpine temperatures of -9 °C. Light northeast ridge wind gusting 30 km/h. Freezing level at valley bottom.
Wednesday
Generally sunny. High alpine temperatures of -2 °C. Light easterly ridge wind gusting 30 km/h. Freezing level rises to 2000 metres.
Thursday
A mix of sun and clouds. High alpine temperatures of -3 °C. Light westerly ridge wind. Freezing level rises to 1800 metres.
Friday
Cloudy with sunny periods. Isolated flurries. High alpine temperatures of -3 °C. Moderate westerly ridge wind. Freezing level rises to 1800 metres.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
