Avalanche Forecast

Another pulse of weather is on the way beginning Sunday night. As much as 15cm of snow could fall by Monday evening. Temperatures will remain mild and winds will be light to moderate from the SW.

A large scale natural avalanche cycle is occurring at all elevations and on all aspects. Many avalanches have been very large. In addition, significant avalanche activity has been observed in the trees at lower elevations, impacting hiking and snowshoeing trials (such as Ha Ling Trail). Avalanche Control today produced a few large avalanches, in some cases burying the highway.

Recent snowfall has totaled between 60 and 90cm over the past 48 hours at Treeline elevations. The snow arrived with moderate to strong SW winds which has overloaded the snowpack at all elevations and on all aspects. A large scale natural avalanche cycle is ongoing with slide up to size 3.5 occurring. In many cases the slides are failing on the weak basal layers.

• Very large and destructive avalanches could reach valley bottom.
• Be aware of the potential for large, destructive avalanches due to the presence of deeply buried weak layers.
• The trees are not the safe-haven they normally are at this time. Terrain at treeline is primed for human triggered avalanches.
• If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.