Avalanche Forecast
Regions: North Shore, Powell River, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, South Coast, Stave, Tantalus, Tetrahedron.
Mild temperature and elevated freezing level continue.
The early-season snowpack is generally well-settled.
Incoming storm is on the radar for Friday night !
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported in the last 24h. Warming signs of instability, such as pinwheels, tree bombs, and heavy wet snow, were observed earlier this week.
If you are going out in the backcountry, please consider filling out a Mountain Information Network (MIN) report.
Snowpack Summary
A weak melt-freeze crust may have formed at the snow surface with overnight cooling. Continued mild temperature and light rain have transformed the top 40 cm of the snowpack into moist snow.
Down 45 to 60 cm from the surface, a significant melt-freeze crust is found. It was reported to be a failure plan during snow tests near Mont Steele this Wednesday.
The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled.
Snow depths at treeline vary across the region. Currently, 140 cm is reported in Knuckles, 95 cm on the North Shore and 175 cm near Sky Pilot.
Weather Summary
Thursday Night
Mostly cloudy. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +2 °C. Freezing level 2000 m.
Friday
Cloudy with 5 mm of light rain. 50 to 70 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +4 °C. Freezing level 2500 to 3000 m.
Saturday
Cloudy with heavy rain. 40 to 80 mm. 40 to 60 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +2°C. Freezing level 3000 m lowering to 1000 m.
Sunday
Cloudy with 15 to 30 cm of wet snow at upper elevations. 30 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0°C. Freezing level 1000 to 1500 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling, and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.
- Make observations and continually assess conditions as you travel.