Avalanche Forecast
Cariboos
Continued slow accumulation of new snow Friday night into Saturday just before a more stable and clearing weather pattern sets in for the rest weekend.
Avalanche Problem 1: Wind Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Use ridges or ribs to avoid pockets of wind loaded snow.
- Be cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.
Avalanche Problem 2: Persistent Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
A weak layer of surface hoar buried 20-40 cm deep has potential to be reactive where the overlying snow has settled into a cohesive slab.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Watch for signs of slab formation at lower elevations, such as whumphing or shooting cracks.
- Buried surface hoar is more likely to be preserved in sheltered openings at and below tree line.
Avalanche Summary
Recent reports are limited to both natural and human triggered loose dry avalanches in steep terrain to size 1 in areas that have not been affected by wind. Please submit your observations to the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
Snowpack Summary
Up to 10cm of low density new snow has buried a recently formed layer of weak feathery surface hoar and/or sugary facets. A layer buried mid-December that consists of surface hoar, sun crust and/or sugary facets is now down approximately 20-40cm. The bond at this old snow interface is of critical importance in areas where the overlying snow has consolidated into a slab. The most concerning areas are those that saw pronounced surface hoar development before the storm, such as sheltered areas at and below treeline, sheltered northerly aspects in the alpine, or anywhere the surface hoar formed on top of a sun crust. Recent snowpack tests show wide ranging reactivity on this weak layer.
A crust which was formed by rain in late November is another major feature in the snowpack and is down approximately 70-100cm at tree line elevations. This interface has shown some signs of reactivity limited to steep, variably loaded alpine features in the adjacent North Columbia region.
Weather Forecast
SATURDAY: Trace to 5cm snow overnight Friday into Saturday then a mix of sun and cloud / Light southwest wind / Alpine temperature -15
SUNDAY: Mix of sun and cloud / Light southwest wind / Alpine temperature -10
MONDAY: Mix of sun and cloud / Light west wind / Alpine temperature -5
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Recent shifting winds have been redistributing loose snow into wind slabs on a variety of aspects.