North Rockies, British Columbia / Alberta

Steep but not Deep 11 hours ago Observation We took advantage of the cooler temperatures and low avalanche hazard to ski a steep east facing alpine line up Bullmoose by Tumbler Ridge. We managed to squeak in our field day just before the rain started up. We saw no recent avalanches or signs of instability. 3 photos Wednesday April 21st Avalanche Canada, 12 hours ago Forecast Back to great conditions 1 day ago Observation Skied a bowl in the Perry Creek drainage today. The snow has healed amazingly well from being cooked into mush last week. After the heat wave there was 36 hours of hard freeze, down to -6C. We found a really solid 30 cm welded crust with settled snow below it, and 2-5 cm of April powder on top. 2 photos Highmark Season 1 day ago Observation Knowing your orientation to the sun is everything on days like today. While south and west faces quickly grew unstable in the afternoon sun, northerly faces were great for highmarking! 5 photos Monday April 19th Avalanche Canada, 2 days ago Forecast The Waiting Game 3 days ago Observation We were pleasantly surprised to find the snowpack cooler than we had expected today in the Anzac. The top 15cm had frozen overnight on shadier slopes above 1250m and a cool north wind kept the suns heat at bay. The upper 80cm of the snowpack is moist and spring skiing is in full swing. 3 photos Hidden Valley, so hot right now. 3 days ago Observation Its really hot out there. Even with and early start the signs of a warm snowpack were everywhere. We made very conservative terrain choices based on that and tagged on a hike to the summit of Mt Kostiuk to make up for the lack of rideable terrain. 2 photos Saturday April 17th Avalanche Canada, 4 days ago Forecast Friday April 16th Avalanche Canada, 5 days ago Forecast Sunblock Required 6 days ago Observation Started up Beaver Creek at noon to let the trail soften a bit. Shaded temperature was hitting 10°C in the afternoon. Spring conditions have come in like a lion. (pic 1.) Lots of loose wet slides along the backside of the range releasing from heating rocks. (pic 2. 2 photos Wednesday April 14th Avalanche Canada, 1 week ago Forecast Beauty in Babette 1 week ago Observation Taking the current and previous forecast /weather station data into consideration we headed out. Great snow quality as it has not warmed up too much. It did get warmer as the day went on and you could see the effect on the slopes that were getting lit up. 3 photos Sidehilling into Sunburns 1 week ago Observation It didn't get as warm as we thought it would in the sun today and the cooler temps helped keep the avalanche hazard in check. At noon, south faces in the alpine were just starting to turn a little moist from the sun. 5 photos Monday April 12th Avalanche Canada, 1 week ago Forecast Goop on crust 1 week ago Observation Today we saw the start of the next big warm up. The top 10-15cm of the snowpack was wet and there were shooting cracks around the sleds. This started our discussion on human factors and what our objectives for the day were. 3 photos Going coastal 1 week ago Observation The North Rockies snowpack has reached a point where it is deep and well consolidated. Much like a coastal snowpack it is stabilizing quickly after the last snowfall. Our profile at treeline saw the snowpack around 5 meters deep. 3 photos Saturday April 10th Avalanche Canada, 1 week ago Forecast Friday April 9th Avalanche Canada, 1 week ago Forecast Small Slide 1 week ago Observation While I started Traversing down into this creek the layer broke away right under me, It was enough to carry me and my sled 2-3 feet down hill as it was quite steep. 2 photos