Lawinenlagebericht

South Coast

Dec 12 – 13, 2022Avalanche Canada
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Archiviert · abgelaufen 4 years ago

Lawinengefahr

Wed
Thu
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
1 · Gering
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Kernpunkte

You're most likely to encounter avalanche problems at higher elevations near ridges and peaks that are away from the coast where the snow was deep, dry, and will take more time to settle and gain strength.

Watch for rapid changes to the upper snowpack if the wind picks up or the sun comes out!

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–2

    Strong southerly winds during last week's storm have created deep deposits of wind slab near ridges and peaks. These slabs are most likely to be an issue inland from the coast, where the storm snow was deep, dry, and will take more time to settle and gain strength.

    If northerly outflow winds pick up on Monday, fresh wind slabs may form anywhere there is powdery, dry snow available to be transported. Watch for changing conditions throughout the day and avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

During the storm on Saturday, several small (size 1) natural and human-triggered storm slab avalanches were reported in the North Shore mountains. These avalanches occurred at treeline and below treeline on a variety of aspects.

Looking forward to Monday, we expect storm slab activity to drop off with cooling temperatures. The avalanche problem will likely be more confined to wind-loaded areas at upper elevations. Be cautious around these denser and deeper slabs as they may remain sensitive to human triggering.

Keep sharing your observations via the MIN; it helps strengthen our information gathering.

Snowpack Summary

Upper snowpack: Last week's storm snow totals around 50 to 70 cm. This storm arrived warm and mixed with rain near the coast (e.g. North Shore Mountains). This new snow is sitting on a sun crust on steep, solar aspects and feathery surface hoar crystals in isolated sheltered and shaded areas. Mid-pack: softer, weaker layers of less cohesive snow around 80 - 100 cm down should be gaining strength as they squish. Lower-pack: a thick melt-freeze crust and increasing strength.

At 1000 m the snowpack depth is around 150 cm. In many areas, below treeline elevations are still below the threshold for avalanches.

Weather Summary

Sunday night

Cloudy with clear periods. Alpine temperatures drop to a low of -3 °C. Ridge wind light to 15 km/h from the northeast. Freezing level 100 meters.

Monday

A mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperatures reach a high of -2 °C. Ridge wind light to 20 km/h from the northeast. Freezing level rising to 400 meters.

Tuesday

Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries, trace new snow accumulation. Alpine temperatures reach a high of 1 °C. Light ridge wind. Freezing level rising to 2300 meters.

Wednesday

A mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperatures reach a high of 2 °C. Ridge wind light to 15 km/h. Freezing level rising to 2400 meters.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Start on smaller terrain features and gather information before committing to bigger terrain.
  • Stay off recently wind loaded slopes until they have had a chance to stabilize.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.

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