Avalanche forecast

South Coast

Jan 11, 2017Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Continually assess conditions as you travel and watch out for isolated (wind) slabs.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Be on the lookout for small pockets of wind slab on northerly aspects (from the past storm) and  also on southerly aspects (from recent 'reverse loading' by outflow winds).

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Some cool but fine weather for the next few days. The next weather system arrives late on Saturday. WEDNESDAY: Sunny with occasional cloud. Light and variable winds. Freezing level at sea level. Treeline temperatures around -6 Celcius.THURSDAY: Sunny with clouds in the afternoon. Light westerly winds 10-15 Km/hr. Freezing level at sea level. Treeline temperatures around -6 Celcius. FRIDAY: Increasing clouds throughout the day. Lightly southwesterly winds 15-25 Km/hr. Alpine high temperatures to -4 Celcius. Freezing level rises to 300m

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed.

Snowpack Summary

The mountains of the South Coast region received 15-20cm of snow Sunday-Monday. The new snow came in wet and heavy (especially in the North Shore mountains) and bonded well to 15 cm of settling snow from Friday's storm.  Watch out for small wind slabs on north-facing slopes in the lee of exposed features. Friday's snow buried a variable interface composed of faceted (sugary) snow and old hard wind slabs (especially at higher elevations). Recent reports suggest the snow has bonded well to this interface. The mid and lower snowpack are well settled and stable.

Regions covered