January 14, 2002 SOUTH COLUMBIA REGION WEATHER: The NW flow over BC brought cooler temps to this region, with lows dropping to -15 in some areas. Precipitation associated with this flow layed down 20-30 cm, which thankfully came as snow this time. With a ridge of high pressure across the province and a persistent NW flow, expect cool temperatures to maintain themselves and minor accumulations of snow for Wednesday. SNOWPACK: Winds associated with the weekend snowstorm have created windslabs in exposed areas above treeline. The wind slabs appear to be bonding well to the underlying surfaces and the forecast cold temperatures will aid this improving trend. Below this, but still within the upper meter of the snowpack, several persistent and dangerous layers exist which should be watched keenly. Rain crust, facets and surface hoar are all lurking about with enough load above them to produce sizable avalanches. AVALANCHES: Great variation through this region, but still significant activity being noted with most avalanches running in the storm snow or down approximately 75 cm on the January 2 surface hoar layer. FORECAST OF AVALANCHE DANGER UP TO THURSDAY EVENING (JAN 17) ALPINE: Considerable TREELINE: Considerable BELOW TREELINE: Moderate TRAVEL ADVISORY: Whenever we have a situation where the snowpack is complicated and represents lingering danger, it becomes more difficult to make correct decisions. Salty old mountain travelers know the best option is to make terrain choices that minimize exposure to questionable areas, and avoiding areas where being wrong could have disastrous consequences, such as traversing a convex slope above a terrain trap.