Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Dec 2nd, 2017 3:08PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Storm Slabs.
mgrist,
Avalanche Canada
Heavy snowfall in the North Shore mountains (60-90cm storm snow) will take time to settle and bond to a crust. Carefully assess the snowpack before venturing into more aggressive terrain.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
We'll see a clearing trend on Sunday and fine weather during the week.Sunday: Clearing in the morning and then dry with some sunny breaks. Light northwesterly winds. Freezing levels 800m.Monday: Sunny with cloudy periods. Freezing levels around 400 m. Light northwesterly winds.Tuesday: Mainly sunny and becoming warm up high. Freezing levels rising to 2000 m. Light northerly winds.
Avalanche Summary
Storm slabs were easily triggered by ski cutting on Thursday into Friday. See here for a good video of how easily the snow was moving on Thursday. We also had a fine MIN post describing storm slab activity on Mt SeymourExpect human triggered and natural avalanches to occur in steep, wind-affected terrain at higher elevations while precipitation continues.
Snowpack Summary
Significant amounts of storm snow fell over the past two days, with 50-80 cm of new snow accumulating. That said, the snow appears to be bonding well to a crust (down 70-90cm at treeline elevations) and stabilizing rapidly. During the storms, instabilities have generally been short-lived and limited to layers down 20-30cm in the storm snow, or specific lee (northerly) features which saw rapid loading due to south (east) winds. Travel has improved below treeline, however, there are still open creeks, alder and other early season hazards. Expect snow depths of around 50 cm at 800 m and around 200 cm at 1200 m.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Recent snow and wind resulted in slab avalanche conditions in steep and/or exposed terrain. Be careful around broad open slopes and steep terrain, especially where you can feel the November 26th crust with your ski pole.
Avoid steep convex slopes.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Dec 3rd, 2017 2:00PM
