Avalanche Forecast

Sunday night: Clear, light northwest ridgetop wind, treeline temperature -8, freezing level valley bottom. 

Monday: Mix of sun and cloud, light northwest ridgetop wind, treeline high -7.

Tuesday: Flurries up to 10 cm, light northerly ridgetop wind, treeline high -10.

Wednesday: Sunny, light northerly ridgetop wind, treeline high -13.

Avalanche activity on a persistent weak layer has seemingly petered out since last week. Activity peaked on Tuesday when A widespread natural avalanche cycle in the North Shore mountains saw releases on just about every feature that could be described as avalanche terrain, with avalanches up to size 3.

North Shore Rescue responded to a serious, but non-fatal avalanche incident last Tuesday evening near Cypress Mountain Resort. One person was involved and was partially buried. The avalanche was size 2 on a west aspect at approximately 1100 m.

Recent wind has varied in direction, likely depositing snow into wind slabs in lee terain features on a variety of aspects at upper elevations. 100-150 cm of snow sits over a widespread persistent weak layer. This weak layer consists of a thick crust with weak facets and/or surface hoar on top of it in many areas. Most terrain features where this layer presented an avalanche problem have been cleaned out in a previous avalanche cycle. Where it remains buried, this layer is becoming more difficult to trigger due to bridging by overlying dense snow and crusts especially at lower elevations.

Click here to watch North Shore Rescue's snowpack conditions update from Friday.

• Be careful as you transition into wind affected terrain.
• Be aware of highly variable recent wind loading patterns.
• Minimize exposure to sun-exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.