Avalanche Forecast
Regions: East Island, North Island, South Island, Vancouver Island, West Island.
***Updated - 6:18 am PST***
Be prepared to back off slopes and choose more conservative terrain as storm snow accumulates throughout the day.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
Wet loose avalanches up to size 2 were observed on the weekend.
If you head into the backcountry, please consider submitting a MIN
Snowpack Summary
Check out this MIN describing conditions and avalanche observations.
Rain has left the snow surface wet at lower elevations and a mix of wet snow and hard melt-freeze crust around treeline. Dry snow may be found in the alpine, which has likely been redistributed by strong southerly wind.
The remainder of the snowpack is strong with numerous hard melt-freeze crusts.
Treeline snow depth ranges from 100 to 180 cm. Snow depth diminishes rapidly at low elevations where rain has prevailed for much of the winter.
Weather Summary
Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy with 5 mm of mixed precipitation expected, southeast ridgetop wind 15 to 35 km/h, treeline temperature -2°C.
Wednesday
Cloudy with up to 40 mm of mixed precipitation expected, south ridgetop wind 25 to 40 km/h, freezing level rising to 1600 m.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy with up to 10 mm of mixed precipitation expected, southeast ridgetop wind 25 to 40 km/h, freezing level around 1500 m.
Friday
Cloudy with up to 20 mm of mixed precipitation expected, southeast ridgetop wind 30 to 50 km/h, freezing level around 1400 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Watch for fresh storm slabs building throughout the day.
- Avoid terrain traps such as gullies and cliffs where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.
- Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
- The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
- Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.
Avalanche Problems
Storm Slabs
New reactive storm slabs will likely form throughout the day at treeline and above.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Likely - Very Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2
Loose Wet
Wet loose activity remains possible where the snow surface is saturated by rain.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Treeline, Below Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 1.5
Persistent Slabs
A layer of facets over a crust is buried down 40 to 80 cm and may still be rider triggerable on alpine slopes with inconsistent snowpack depth.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 2