Avalanche Forecast
Regions: East Island, North Island, South Island, Vancouver Island, West Island.
Very dangerous avalanche conditions exist at higher elevations where storm snow and strong winds are building touchy storm slabs.
Avoid all avalanche terrain.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
On Sunday, a sledder accidentally triggered a size 2.5 wind slab avalanche. The avalanche occurred on a west aspect at 1580 m, near Beadnell Mountain.
On Saturday, the storm snow was reported as reactive to skier-triggering with storm slab avalanches up to size 1.5. Two natural, size 2, wind slab avalanches were reported in treeline features on a north aspect.
We expect human-triggered avalanche activity to continue Tuesday as the snowpack adjusts to the new load.
Snowpack Summary
Storm snow continues to accumulate bringing storm totals between 60 to 130 cm in some areas. Strong southerly ridgetop winds have created variable surfaces in exposed areas and built deep deposits in lee features at alpine and treeline.
The new snow sits over a layer of loose snow above a crust that exists on all but high north aspects. It is unlikely the new snow will bond well to old surfaces in areas where it overlies weak facets or surface hoar.
The mid and lower snowpack is generally settled and strong.
Below 1000m the upper snowpack may be moist or wet.
Weather Summary
Monday Night
Cloudy with 15 to 30 cm of snow above the rain-snow line. 40 to 60 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline around -3 °C. Freezing level around 800m.
Tuesday
Mainly cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow above the rain-snow line. 30 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high around -1 °C. Freezing level around 1000m.
Wednesday
Partly cloudy. 15 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high around -2 °C. Freezing level around 800m.
Thursday
A mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high around +3 °C. Freezing level around 3000m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Avoid all avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
- Storm snow and wind is forming touchy slabs. Use caution in lee areas in the alpine and treeline.
- Be careful to keep storm day fever from luring you out into bigger terrain features.
- As the storm slab problem gets trickier, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.
Avalanche Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm snow continues to accumulate and build deep cohesive slabs that are very reactive to human-triggering. Expect to find the deepest deposits on north and east aspects.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Very Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2.5