Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 24th, 2023–Dec 25th, 2023

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Sea To Sky, South Coast, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Powell River, Spearhead, Tantalus, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron.

If the new snowfall surpasses 30 cm, the danger level in the alpine and at treeline is deemed considerable.

Exercise caution at higher elevations; anticipate building storm slabs.

Confidence

No Rating

Avalanche Summary

On Friday near whistler, explosive avalanche control operations working the the alpine trigger two size 2 avalanches and numerous size 1 avalanches. They all failed within the storm snow, just above a buried hard melt-freeze crust from December 21st .

If you do head into the backcountry please consider submitting observations and/or photos on the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

During Saturday night a period of clear and cold created widespread SH at both treeline and alpine elevations, the incoming storm is likely to bury this and become a layer of concern. We expect the past storm snow to have effectively bonded to the old surfaces but in large open connected alpine terrain is 10 to 20 cm deep and may be a concern

Below treeline, you'll likely find dirt, shallow, heavy, moist or wet snow.

The mid and lower snowpack is made up of a series of crusts and rounded grains and is well consolidated.

Overall, the snow depth tapers rapidly with elevation and remains shallow creating challenging travel conditions and hiding early season hazards just below the snow surface.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy. A trace of new snow expected. Treeline temperature around -1 °C. Freezing level rising to 1000 m. Strong south ridgetop wind.

Monday

Cloudy. Heavy snow and rain expected to begin in the pm 60 to 80 mm. Freezing level rising to 1200-1500 m. Treeline temperature around 1 °C. strong gusting extreme, south east ridgetop wind.

Tuesday

Cloudy. Heavy snow and rain that is expected to cease in the am 20-40 mm. Freezing level 1200-1500 m. Treeline temperature around 1 °C. Strong easing to moderate , south east ridgetop wind.

Wednesday

Cloudy. Snow and rain that is expected to begin in the pm 5 to 10 mm. Freezing level 1500-1900 m. Treeline temperature around 3 °C. Moderate gusting strong, south east ridgetop wind.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
Be cautious of buried obstacles especially below treeline.

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.