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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 19th, 2022–Dec 20th, 2022

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Northwest Coastal, Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Stewart, Howson, Ningunsaw.

Strong outflow winds are expected to continue to affect all elevations.

Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Over the weekend, several wind slabs were triggered on open slopes and some were remotely triggered. The December 6th surface hoar layer, down 20-50 cm, was reported to be the failure plane. Numerous glide slabs up to size 2 were also reported in the last 48h.

If you venture into the backcountry, please consider submitting a MIN report, as it helps to strengthen our data gathering.

Snowpack Summary

Surfaces at upper elevations are highly wind-affected and variable due to switching winds. In some parts of the region, a crust exists on south aspects. Dry powder snow still exists in protected areas at lower elevations.

A layer of large surface hoar crystals, buried in early December, is found down 20 to 50 cm. This layer has been producing small but remotely-triggered avalanches recently. Reverse-loading is increasing the likelihood of triggering these slabs.

The lower snowpack is well consolidated above the mid-November crust, found at treeline below 1200 m.

Weather Summary

The same story continues with the bitterly cold arctic air mass over the region. Gusty outflow winds through the coastal inlets and extremely cold temperatures are expected to persist through Friday.

Monday night

Mainly clear. No precipitation. Northeast wind 40 km/h at ridge tops. High of -22˚C.

Tuesday

Mainly sunny. No precipitation. Northeasterly wind 30 km/h at ridge tops. High of -24˚C.

Wednesday

A mix of sun and clouds. No precipitation. Northeasterly wind 45 km/h at ridge tops. High of -24˚C.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy. No precipitation. Northeasterly wind 20 km/h at ridge tops. High of -24˚C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
  • Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.
  • Seek out wind sheltered terrain below treeline where you can avoid wind slabs and find great riding.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.