Microwave-Sinclair
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 28th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 27th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 26th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 25th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 24th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 24th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 23rd, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 22nd, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 21st, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 20th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 19th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 18th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 17th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 16th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 15th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 14th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 13th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 12th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 11th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 10th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 9th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 8th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 7th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 6th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 5th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 4th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 3rd, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 2nd, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Mar 1st, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs.
Published: Feb 28th, 2025Microwaved Weekend
We went to the Microwave today to investigate how the weekend warm temps affected the snowpack. Seems like the freezing level rose all the way up to 1400m with a slight crust under 5-10 cm of new snow. This crust gets noticeably thicker as you drop elevation. The snow pack at tree line and above has also settled with the mild temps, with only ~25 cm of boot penetration and less while on the snowmobile. We felt one whumpf on a regroup which we suspect was the Late Nov SH collapsing, which was down 70cm in out test pit. We stayed away from steep slopes and had a great day.
AvCan Northwest,
Tuesday 2nd January, 2024 4:30PM
Rainy Day
Rain up to about 1000m snow skied ok above 1200m
HankMoody,
Saturday 30th December, 2023 7:30PM
At the Mic in the fog
Rode up at the microwave in the fog, couldn't really ride much past the cabin due to poor visibility. A mix of rain down low, and snow up high, the freezing level was around the last switchback approximately 1400m. Lots of snow falling off of trees, and a bunch of size 1 point releases on the steep cut banks on the road.
Jim Simonelli,
Friday 29th December, 2023 4:20PM
Two chains
Today we skied at Ashman Ridge.
We saw one large (Size 2.5) wind slab avalanche from a steep, rocky, wind-loaded ridgeline on a northeast facing slope in the alpine.
We found about 20 cm of soft snow while skinning up. The north and east facing slopes off the ridge were wind-loaded from previous southwesterly winds, so we decided to avoid these and ski some mellow south facing slopes.
We found the weak layer of buried surface hoar 65 cm deep, and it is still reactive in snowpack testing, with heavy loads in this location.
The day was warm and cloudy, with the snow surface becoming moist up to 1300 m.
AvCan Northwest,
Friday 29th December, 2023 8:20AM
Happy Holidays Folks!
Today we snowmobiled at the Microwave. It was snowing lightly in the morning, and we found about 15 cm of new snow from the last storm. The wind was moderate from the southwest. The snow on any exposed terrain up near the cabin was wind-affected, so it was not that good for riding.
In the trees, the snow was not wind-affected, but we did find several layers of weak, feathery crystals (known as surface hoar) that are still reactive and producing propagating results in snowpack testing. The main layer of concern is about 40 cm deep. Because of this layer of concern, we stayed away from any steep terrain in the trees, and avoided creek walls and gullies.
We did not see any new avalanches but we didn't see much in the clouds!
AvCan Northwest,
Friday 22nd December, 2023 5:20PM
Snowy Sinclair
Today we found an older (24-48 hrs) snowmobile triggered avalanche. This avalanche failed on the early December surface hoar layer that is widespread in the region. It failed on relatively low angle terrain and was ~40 meters wide. This was enough evidence for us to be very cautious with our terrain choices. Surface hoar avalanches can "propagate"(travel across) very wide distances and have the potential to be triggered from below. We kept a safe distance from any large steep slopes.
AvCan Northwest,
Friday 15th December, 2023 4:10PM
Microwavable Surface Hoar
Today we went riding at the Microwave. Conditions were way better than the last time we were there with about 85 cm of snow at 1500 m. There is large 15 mm surface hoar growing and another layer of 10mm surface hoar buried 40 cm down. We didn't see any new avalanches today but the surface hoar down 40 cm is a concern especially in areas with additional snow loading.
AvCan Northwest,
Thursday 7th December, 2023 5:10PM
The Lucas Limbo
Today we skied at Ashman Ridge.
We saw several natural avalanches, up to size 2. These avalanches released from the ridgecrest on steep north and east facing slopes.
Above 1200 m we found 30 to 60 cm of new snow which sits on top of a layer of buried surface hoar. Our snowpack tests showed that these weak, feathery crystals are reactive to light loads on a variety of different slopes. We didn’t find the surface hoar everywhere, but this is a layer of concern for us that we will continue to investigate.
Below 1200 m there is about 10 cm new snow on top of a rain crust.
During the day today the sun and mild temperatures affected sunny slopes which now have a thin crust on the surface.
It was partly cloudy with calm conditions.
AvCan Northwest,
Wednesday 6th December, 2023 5:40PM
Early Season Turns
Skiing supportive snow above tree line and fun facets below tree line down to 1300m. Hoar frost up to 1700m, more prominent on south slopes between 1300-1600m (Picture at 1600m). Slight crust below frost.
Hand shears on a north aspect showed a resistant planar type failure around 10cm on features that were wind scoured above 1500m.
HankMoody,
Wednesday 29th November, 2023 9:36PM
Low Expectations
The avalanche hazard was low and so were our expectations of finding deep powder. Total snow amounts at treeline at the Microwave were between 50-60cm, which is not enough to cover up all the rocks and stumps yet. We found a layer of surface hoar that has very recently been buried by a couple centimeters of snow. In wind affected areas this surface hoar has likely been broken down/blown away, but in sheltered spots it may become a problem when we see more snow load on it.
mhalik,
Wednesday 29th November, 2023 9:36PM
Still sick at Sinclair
<p>Today we rode at Sinclair. Cool temps overnight have dried the snow out and made for excellent riding conditions above 1600m. By mid day sunny aspects were becoming moist. Northern aspects were still holding cold dry snow. We dug on a north aspect at 1850m and found the March 31st interface down 40cm. We were able to produce moderate to hard results during compression tests and non propagating results in extend column tests. We observed one size 1 windslab avalanche. </p>
AvCan Northwest,
Tuesday 18th April, 2023 4:40PM
its not over at Ashman
<p>Today we skied at Ashman. Excellent ski quality exists on Northern aspects. During testing on a northwest aspect at 1600 m we were able to produce hard results during a compression tests down 50 cm on the March 31 melt freeze crust layer. Wind slab has formed in lee terrain features at ridge line and remains trigger-able. We observed one size 2 windslab avalanche. </p>
AvCan Northwest,
Thursday 13th April, 2023 5:00PM
Ashman
<p>Rode the backside of Ashman Ridge. 10 cm powder on the north side. Local wind deposits with easy hand shear. Moderate winds at ridge line. Variable weather. </p>
colleenath,
Saturday 8th April, 2023 9:50AM
Cornasty not cornice (but great skiing)
<p>Today we enjoyed winter-like conditions in the north bowls of Ashman! There is 10 - 15 cm of cold, dry snow over a firm older surface on shady slopes, to as low as 1200m. We saw very little wind affect at the surface. Sunny slopes are a little dust-on-crusty, but generally supportive to skiing. Overall, great skiing!
We did see one large natural cornice fall on an east facing slope in the alpine. It did not trigger a slab on the slope below.
The cornices at Ashman are large and looming so we stayed well back from them on ridgelines.</p>
AvCan Northwest,
Monday 3rd April, 2023 6:00PM
not for use in microwave
<p>Today we rode at the Microwave. There was 2 cm of snow overnight that did not improve the riding quality. This area is quite tracked out and the recent warm temps have made a hard crust at all elevations that is making for difficult riding conditions. There is extensive wind effect in the alpine and at ridgline some areas have been stripped to ground by recent winds and exposure to the sun. We observed no new avalanches. </p>
AvCan Northwest,
Friday 31st March, 2023 4:10PM
Microwave on high
<p>Today we rode at the Microwave. Riding conditions are firm with north aspects still holding cold dry snow. South aspects were especially firm and made for difficult riding conditions. Cornices are massive in this area and we would avoid runout zones if the temperature rises rapidly or the sun is out for very long. </p>
AvCan Northwest,
Friday 24th March, 2023 4:00PM
Sunny Sinclair
<p>Great day to travel the Sinclair area and observe numerous cornice failures and wind slab avalanches up to size 2. </p>
AVCAN NORTHWEST,
Friday 17th March, 2023 5:20PM
Crushing crystals at Ashman
<p>Today we went to Ashman Ridge. We found 15 cm of cold dry snow on all aspects at the surface. On shady aspects, this snow overlies a previously wind affected surface. On steep, sunny slopes, this snow overlies a thin sun crust.
We saw one size 1 wind slab avalanche from ridgecrest on a northeast facing slope in the alpine. We also saw one new size 1.5 loose dry avalanche which ran about 200 m from a steep, alpine feature.
We had partly cloudy conditions, with moderate southwesterly winds at ridgecrest transporting some snow. We used a small convex feature at 1600 m which faces north as a test slope. We were able to produce some cracking about 20 cm deep right on the steep rollover. Lower in the slope and on less steep slopes we just found good skiing! We travelled on a ridge into the alpine, stopping when the snow became wind affected, and enjoyed great turns. We avoided overhead hazard from large cornices. </p>
AvCan Northwest,
Wednesday 15th March, 2023 6:40PM
Km 13
<p>We found strong winds from the SW.
A hand shear on NE aspect at 1500m yielded a planar result on a crust/sz 1 surface hoar interface down 45cm.
Multiple natural WS sz 1-2 on N aspect with rocky start zones 24h-48h old.
Riding quality was best at treeline and below.</p>
kimpthomas,
Sunday 12th March, 2023 11:10AM
Small Remote Cornice Failure
<p>Skiing quality on north aspects was great in protected areas. Surface hoar crystals made for easy trail breaking and great turns.
South aspects were sun affected with a breakable crust.</p>
kitchinh,
Saturday 11th March, 2023 9:40PM
Great conditions at Ashman
<p>Road southern slopes of Ashman Saturday and Sunday. Did not see any recent avalanche activity. Observed many heavily loaded cornices, and cross-loading on western and southwestern aspects. Stayed away from these hazards and road mellow sustained and concave slopes in the alpine areas just above tree line and within the tree line. Upper alpine was crusty/wind affected and not worth riding. </p>
n.k.,
Monday 6th March, 2023 11:50AM
Sinclair snorkel fest in the trees
<p>Today we rode at Sinclair. Cold temps have preserved the recent snow and riding below tree line was very deep with 50 cm plus of cold dry storm snow from the last few days. At tree line and above strong winds have made hard wind slab on all aspects making for very difficult riding conditions. We observed multiple size 1 - 1.5 slab avalanches on N-NE aspects in the alpine.
There has been extensive cornice growth recently and we gave a wide berth to slopes exposed to overhanging cornices. Windslab avalanches were our main concern, however the threat of large cornices failing, and triggering larger avalanches in steep rocky facetted terrain remains. </p>
AvCan Northwest,
Thursday 2nd March, 2023 4:20PM
Rock hard at the Microwave
<p>Today we rode at the Microwave. The strong outflow winds over the previous days have made hard wind slab at treeline and above, making for difficult riding conditions. Sheltered areas at treeline still hold some non wind affected snow that made for fun riding. We observed cracking in the windslab while riding that prompted us to stay away from larger terrain features that have been scoured by the wind. We observed no new avalanches.</p>
AvCan Northwest,
Friday 24th February, 2023 3:50PM
Windy Ashman
<p>Strong winds at Ashman. Observed three naturals in North Bowl between laps. Size 1 - 2. Ski cut size 1, 10 cm slab. Observed size 1 on south side from earlier in day.</p>
heemske,
Saturday 11th February, 2023 8:20PM
AST 2 obs - Km 13 Area
<p>Some obs from an AST 2 course, we toured up from KM 13, south of Denis Lake to treeline. Noteable obs, strong west winds in alpine and treeline, scouring and intense transport, creating hardslabs in lee terrain. In 2 hasty pits we found the Jan 28 crust down 80cm, on both NW and an E aspect. It gave no result with an ECT test, and a very hard compression test result. We had a moderate shear down 20cm in recent storm snow. We avoided overhead exposure to the intense wind loading observed.</p>
Hyland Backcountry,
Saturday 11th February, 2023 6:20PM
I get plenty of Ash so call me and Ashtronaut
<p>Today we Skied at Ashman. 10-15 cm of new low density snow sits atop 30-40 cm of buried windslab at treeline and above. We did multiple informal tests to gauge the reactivity of the buried windslab (hand shear, ski cutting representative slopes, digging) before we dropped into the north side of the ridge. You could still fell windslab the first few turns off the ridge but the snow quickly became soft and made for excellent ski quality to valley bottom. We chose supported lines and stayed away from convexities. we observed no new avalanches. </p>
AvCan Northwest,
Wednesday 8th February, 2023 6:10PM
Minor North Facing Slope at Mic
Hidden Stump,
Sunday 5th February, 2023 8:50PM
Never argue with knee deep powder
<p>Today we skied at Ashman ridge. We found 30cm of delightful low density snow above the Jan 25 rain crust. This crust was supportive in the terrain we skied today and made for good fast skiing. We entered the avalanche terrain carefully to asses how well the new storm snow was bonding to the rain crust. Where we skied, there was no slab properties in the new snow and it seemed to be bonding well to the old crust. However, this was only in the terrain we skied today and careful assessment should be made when stepping into new terrain. With continued snowfall and wind the hazard could increase. </p>
AvCan Northwest,
Wednesday 1st February, 2023 4:50PM
Ashman
<p>surprisingly found soft fresh dry light and creamy winter pow (ski pen 20cm) at Ashman while other areas in the BV & Hazeltons are experiencing a melt wet heavy snow cycle. The strong west wind at North bowl deterred us from even thinking about dropping in, let alone the wind slab near start zones, existing Naturals, or sugar down low to be weary about.</p>
allochris,
Sunday 22nd January, 2023 12:20AM
Winfield creek/microwave
<p>Rode near the cabin at the microwave, was surprised to see the HS was only 110cm near the cabin, foot pen was 20cm, so riding was fun and most tracks were filled in. 5 cm from the night before, and was snow S1 most of the day</p>
Jim Simonelli,
Thursday 19th January, 2023 6:40PM
Ashman north bowl
trowbridge.a.s,
Saturday 14th January, 2023 9:10PM
Fresh snow and Light winds at Sinclair
<p>Today we rode at Sinclair. there was 20cm's of fresh snow at tree line and in the alpine. There was light winds with this past storm and no sign of slab formation at any elevation. During compression test's we were not able to produce any significant results. We located the Dec 23rd facet/surface hoar layer down 70cm. There was small facets on the Dec 23rd layer that appeared to be rounding. </p>
AvCan Northwest,
Saturday 14th January, 2023 5:00PM
Sinclair
<p>Rode Sinclair, sidehilled some steep micro terrain, nothing moving but a little bit of wind effected soft slab from the 5 cm the night before. Looked like lots of high marking over the previous weekend with little to no results. So some small point releases or snowballing off of rocks on steeper SW aspects. Snowpack felt very stable, but one shallow pocket away from a catastrophic failure. Stayed out of any big terrain. </p>
Jim Simonelli,
Thursday 12th January, 2023 2:10PM
No sun Sinclair
<p>Today we checked out the Sinclair snowmobile area. In the trees this area has one of the deepest snowpacks in the NW inland that we've seen so far this year. But in the alpine there were still many sections that have been scoured down to ground. Snowpack tests revealed a layer of surface hoar down 15cm and the Dec 23 facet/ surface hoar layer down 30- 40cm. We saw a few recent dry loose avalanches out of steep terrain </p>
AvCan Northwest,
Tuesday 3rd January, 2023 4:40PM
Ashman, Man.
<p>Today we skied at Ashman ridge. We dug on the north side of the ridge and observed propagating results in an extended column test on facets down 40cm
We observed one size 2 avalanche greater that 72 hours old out of steep terrain in the alpine on a north west aspect.
</p>
AvCan Northwest,
Monday 2nd January, 2023 4:50PM
blue jeans and surface hoar at the microwave
<p>Today we rode at the Microwave. There was light wind out of the SW and 10cm of snow accumulated through the day. We observed no new avalanches.
We were able to find the Dec 23rd facet/surface hoar layer on northwest and southeast aspects. During testing we observed easy compression test results on the Dec 23rd facet/surface hoar layer and moderate results in an extended column test that propagated the entire column.
This is the first time we have seen the Dec 23rd surface hoar this large and well preserved in the area.</p>
AvCan Northwest,
Thursday 29th December, 2022 4:00PM
Ashman
<p>Surface crust cleared at 1,000m thankfully</p>
HankMoody,
Wednesday 28th December, 2022 6:50PM
Ashman Ridge
<p>Today we skied at Ashman Ridge. On our walk up to the ridge at 1400m on a south aspect we found a glide avalanche (the entire depth of the snow pack). We think this happened over a week ago. See attached photos.
We skied North off the ridge and found hard wind affected snow near ridge top. Ski quality quickly improved during the descent and became powder snow. We saw no other avalanches or signs of instability.
It was party cloudy today with moderate to strong NW winds at ridgetop, that were blowing snow. We found sheltered conditions in the trees!</p>
AvCan Northwest,
Wednesday 14th December, 2022 5:30PM
Shman
<p>Conditions were cold and calm. Thermometer was reading around -20 in the valley on the north side. Almost no one wind at ridge top.</p>
r.richardson.duffy,
Monday 28th November, 2022 9:31AM
Early Season Ashman
<p>Probing showed 30cm in the alpine with wind deposits in the 80-120cm range. Facets which have bonded throughout the snowpack.
Hoar in the sheltered areas up to treeline.
Good skiing seemed to be wind transported hoar turned facets up to 10cm deep on eastern section of right.
Old gliding cracks were observed. </p>
HankMoody,
Sunday 20th November, 2022 9:30AM
Early ashman
<p>Wind affected up top, 15-20cms powder mid elevation and heavier at the bottom. Excellent coverage top to bottom. An other party of rad early season aired reported wind scouring in saddle towards west of ridge. Truck access possible about a km up the cable fsr. We parked at the bottom and snowmobiled from the Mac Donald to the summer trailhead. The other party skinned from about km 1. </p>
Ben Ambrose,
Sunday 13th November, 2022 9:31AM