Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Wind speed and direction is uncertain

The South Coast is receiving an absolute lashing from two storms that are expected to impact the coast Sunday and then again Monday. A bit of that energy should trickle into the Southern Rockies, unfortunately it will mostly be in the form of strong SW winds. SUNDAY: Continued strong SW winds, 1 to 5cm of snow, freezing level topping out at 500m. MONDAY: Strong SW winds, trace of snow, freezing level around 500m. TUESDAY: Moderate SW winds, 1 to 3cm of snow, freezing level at valley bottom. For more detailed mountain weather information visit: avalanche.ca/weather

No new avalanche activity to report from the South Rockies. In the neighboring Lizard Range, control work on Friday produced widespread 10 to 15cm thick wind slabs that ran as large as size 1.5 on a variety of aspects above 1800m.

The series of recent storms has left us with 40 to 60cm of new snow sitting on the December 8th rain crust. For the most part, the new snow has bonded well to this rain crust. It is thought that this rain crust is "capping" the more deeply buried weak layers in the snowpack meaning that for the most part, the weight of riders isn't penetrating below this crust. A weak layer formed in the first few days of December consisting of crust, surface hoar, and/or facets can be found down 70-90cm. Around 20-30cm below this interface is a rain crust from mid-Nov with a thick layer of facets below it. While these two weak layers are thought to be "capped" in most locations, these layers may still be reactive to heavy triggers such as cornices, a rider hitting a big drop into a slope below, or a smaller avalanche in motion.