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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 30th, 2022–Dec 31st, 2022

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

South Coast, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot.

As the stormy weather comes to an end, expect human-triggered avalanches to remain likely as the new snow settles into a cohesive slab.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Storm snow is reportedly not bonding well to the underlying crust, causing loose avalanches in steep terrain where the new snow lacks cohesion.

Please continue to post your observations and photos to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 80 cm of storm snow has likely accumulated since Thursday at higher elevations. The new snow overlies a thin melt-freeze crust and a moist, saturated snowpack below.

Treeline snow depths are roughly 150 to 200 cm.

Weather Summary

Friday night

Cloudy and heavy snow, 20 to 40 cm. Moderate south winds. 0 C at treeline. Freezing levels 1000 m.

Saturday

Cloudy and snow, 5 to 10 cm. Moderate west winds. 0 C at treeline. Freezing levels 1000 m.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy, with no precipitation. Light west winds. 0 to -5 C at treeline. Freezing levels 1000 m.

Monday

Mostly sunny, with no precipitation. Moderate southerly winds. 0 C at treeline. Freezing levels 1400 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Don't be too cavalier with decision making, storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.
  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the old surface.
  • Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind exposed terrain.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.