Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Jan 2nd, 2017 4:05PM

The alpine rating is moderate, the treeline rating is moderate, and the below treeline rating is low. Known problems include Wind Slabs.

mbender, Avalanche Canada

South Coast Inland.

Cold north winds have been blowing. Watch for fresh wind slabs, particularly on southerly aspects

Summary

Confidence

High - The weather pattern is stable

Weather Forecast

TUESDAY: Dry and sunny. Wind northeasterly 20-35 km/h. Temperatures around -14C.WEDNESDAY: Dry and sunny. Wind northeasterly 15-35 km/h. Temperatures around -5C.THURSDAY: A mix of sun and cloud. Wind west 10-20 km/h. Temperature around -5C.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche observations to report in the region.

Snowpack Summary

The critical parts of the snowpack under current conditions are wind slabs in exposed areas, and, for low snow areas such as the Chilcotins, a layer of faceted snow from mid-December that in those areas is buried under about 50 cm of snow. Most parts of the region saw 60-90 cm new snow last week, which is reported to be generally bonding well. A facet/surface hoar layer was buried on Boxing Day (surface hoar up to 5 mm was observed in the Duffey Lake area), but does not seem to have turned into a major concern. The mid-December interface is now down over 1 m in most parts and is generally considered to be stable, except in shallow snowpack areas as mentioned above, where snowpack tests indicate it could still be a viable failure plane.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Fresh wind slabs are forming on mainly south to west aspects behind exposed terrain features. Slabs found on south aspect slopes could become more unstable when the sun is out.

Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.Minimize exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.Be cautious of sluffing in steep terrain.

Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.

Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.

Likelihood

Possible

Expected Size

1 - 2

Valid until: Jan 3rd, 2017 2:00PM