Avalanche Forecast
Northwest Inland
Strong winds have created touchy slabs at higher elevations. Be wary of persistent slabs lurking at lower elevations. Choose conservative terrain and be aware of overhead hazard.
Avalanche Problem 1: Wind Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Be aware of the potential for wide propagations.
- Watch for whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks or recent avalanches.
- Avoid lee and cross-loaded terrain near ridge crests or convex rolls.
Avalanche Problem 2: Persistent Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Weak layers buried 100-150 cm below the surface have been reactive in snowpack tests and have also produced a few large avalanches recently. These layers may remain sensitive to human triggering in shallow snowpack areas.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Avoid shallow or thick to thin snowpack areas where triggering a deeper layer is more likely.
- Avoid lingering in runout zones, avalanches triggered up high may run long distances.
Avalanche Summary
Throughout the weekend we received reports of continued natural wind slab activity near Smithers. See this MIN report for the latest.
On Saturday we received several reports of natural avalanches to size 3 (particularly on northeast facing slopes at higher elevations) as the winds picked up and slab avalanches ran surprisingly far. See this MIN post for more information. See here for a stunning photo of a large avalanche.
Also on Saturday, explosives control produced size 2.5 avalanches in below tree line terrain north of Smithers. Farther south but also below treeline, skiers were able to trigger a size 2 persistent slab avalanche on a south facing sparsely treed (deciduous) slope just north of Hankin. See here for the MIN report.
Snowpack Summary
Strong winds from a wide range of directions (mostly northwesterly) have been blowing for the past several days, scouring some slopes and creating touchy wind slabs at tree line and above. Where the wind has not affected the snow, you'll find 30-50cm of settling storm snow from last week.
A crust and/or weak feathery surface hoar layer buried in mid-January now lies about 100 cm below the surface. The crust exists well into the alpine and the surface hoar can be found in sheltered areas in the lower alpine and tree line elevations. Snowpack tests produced hard, sudden results on weak, sugary snow crystals associated with this crust in the Smithers area, indicating that this is still a layer of concern to watch for.
Another two crust / surface hoar layers that were buried in December are now 100-150 cm below the surface. These layers produced sudden results in snowpack tests and have been the suspected weak layer in large remotely (from a distance) triggered avalanches.
See here for a good summary of recent snowpack test results near Smithers.
Weather Forecast
WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy with some sunny breaks. Ridge wind moderate to strong from the north / west. Temperature -7. Freezing level valley bottom.
THURSDAY: Cloudy with flurries. Ridge wind strong from the west. Temperature -8. Freezing level valley bottom.
FRIDAY: Increasing cloud in the afternoon. Ridge wind strong, west. Temperature near -7. Freezing level valley bottom.
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Strong north / west winds produced reactive wind slabs in exposed areas at tree line and above. Expect these slabs to be reactive to human triggering and keep in mind that a release may also step-down to a deeper layer buried in the snowpack.