MARCH 6, 1997 SOUTH COAST & VANCOUVER ISLAND WEATHER: Another 15cm overnight on Wednesday in the Garibaldi area and temperatures at about -4degrees at 2000m, sounds like low density coastal snow for early March. Winds in the alpine have not been terribly strong up to 50kmh from the SSE. Storm snow amounts in some areas are now up to 40cm. With the weekend weather forecast it looks like the level of avalanche danger will increase due to continued snowfall and a warming cycle before Sunday. Pessimists would see the freezing level up to 1500m. SNOWPACK: There is a fairly consistent shear at the storm snow interface. In the alpine at cooler temperatures and where a slab has formed this instability will persist through the weekend. Mainly this slab is on northerly aspects but with a shift to westerly winds then the east slopes will get the loading. In the Pemberton/Duffey area there is still a low density layer sandwiched between harder layers below the recent storm load. This is not reacting right now. And a thin spots reminder is appropriate as we get closer to spring. They may be the catalyst for deep releases later on. AVALANCHES: A ski cut size 1 produced a stepped fracture at 1950m on a north -east aspect, surface sluffing on steep terrain and whumphing in some alpine meadows were reported on Wednesday. The size and frequency of avalanches will increase over the weekend. DANGER: CONSIDERABLE in the alpine TRAVEL ADVISORY: Way up north, well the Smithers area, the stability is considered fair, some ski cutting of cornices did not produce propagation of slab below but there is some interesting layering in the snowpack. Thanks a lot for the very helpful donations that have come in recently. This helps immensely with our ongoing fund-raising work and shows to our sponsors the widespread interest in this project. Thanks again. BULLETIN SPONSORED BY: BC PARKS - SEYMOUR & CYPRESS BOWL NORTH COLUMBIA WEATHER: This week there has been much more snow in the northern part of the region. Light to moderate amounts on Monday and Tuesday, with Revelstoke now past the most snow in 15years at 520cm so far. At 2000m temperatures are ranging from -5 to -15degrees with moderate winds from the southwest. Various systems moving through on a westerly flow and the convective effect for this time of year will give more snow over the weekend and some chance of higher freezing levels, up to 700-800metres. SNOWPACK: Alpine snowpacks are well into the 3metre mark in study plot locations. In wind effected sites and high ridge accumulation zones the snowpack is well over five metres. The most immediate instabilities are in the storm snow and while the surface hoar from 11 February is gaining strength it still produces clean shears. With a five metre height of snowpack in some areas the danger from a large avalanche on the 11 November layer is obvious. Steep sparsely treed terrain between 1500-1900m that has not avalanched is particularly suspect. AVALANCHES: No one area reported widespread activity. However when all the observations from ski control and slope testing are summarized there have been numerous size 1 and 2 avalanches. In some places this is terrain that has been heavily used this winter. The less travelled terrain will be more of a concern. DANGER: CONSIDERABLE in the alpine and if precipitation values are greater than forecast and the freezing level rises the danger could quickly go to HIGH on the weekend. TRAVEL ADVISORY: In 1929, FS Smythe wrote in the classic book 'Climbs and Ski Runs' that "the question of whether or not a slope will avalanche is the most vital problem the ski runner has to face". Not much has changed except he didn't have a snowmobile or snowboard and he wasn't dry tooling up ice climbs. MARCH 6, 1997 SOUTH COLUMBIA WEATHER: Recent storm snow and strong winds in the alpine have been well distributed through the region. New snow amounts in study plots range from 30-50cm during the week. Temperature range at 2000m from -5 to -15 degrees. For the weekend continued westerly flow and combined frontal activity and convective conditions may produce significant snowfalls for the Bulletin period. Watch for a warming on Sunday. SNOWPACK: The changes to the snowpack are kind of building slowly without the intensity of an obvious storm with a pronounced peak. But the accumulations have been building for the past few days and may reach a critical point this weekend. Fat cornices forming and the predominant loading in Stagleap Park is on southwest aspect from westerly crossloading. Further north in the Bugaboos the cornices are breaking naturally. The sun crust is the major sliding surface right now. Deeper instabilities at the surface hoar may come to life later in the cycle. AVALANCHES: More avalanche activity to the south but expect more avalanches in the next 24-36hours. Some avalanches starting in the alpine were propagating separate fracture lines much lower down the path. DANGER: CONSIDERABLE, probably going to HIGH over the weekend. TRAVEL ADVISORY: I think it's important to be aware of the slow building nature of this period of danger. There is some excellent snow conditions but very careful terrain choice is required for a fun weekend. Thanks a lot for the recent personal contributions to the Bulletin. As well as keeping this project going, it helps show our sponsors how wide the support is. Thanks again. BULLETIN SPONSORED BY: MINISTRY OF HIGHWAYS AVALANCHE PROGRAM - KOOTENAY PASS ROCKIES WEATHER: Five to fifteen centimetres of snow in the Marmot/Jasper area, ten to twenty in the Banff/Louise area and twenty to forty in the Fernie area indicates a gradient across Rockies from north to south that has been quite regular this winter. Eastern parts in Kananaskis will see chinook for the weekend so Calgary will be warmer than Vancouver, and for the rest a continued westerly flow will produce light snow amounts in milder temperatures. SNOWPACK: A very touchy new slab in the Louise/Bow Summit countryside. On Wednesday it was running on the late February melt-freeze crust but additional load may see it pull out deeper by the weekend. Further north stability is still considered fair. Overall snowpack heights have not increased greatly due to warmer daytime temperatures contributing to moderate settlement rates. The southerly aspects had the most crust and the southwesterly winds have loaded north aspects. The loading and shear surfaces are complicated by the recent effects of wind and sun. Depth hoar still at the base. AVALANCHES: Numerous avalanches with ski cutting and skier remote in the Lake Louse area up to size 2.5 and a few natural to size 3. DANGER: CONSIDERABLE TRAVEL ADVISORY: Heads up weekend on the horizon, just because the Sea Of Vapours is a fat Grade 4 ice climb don't forget about the snow above. Evan