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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 4th, 2023–Jan 5th, 2023

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Powell River, Spearhead, Tantalus, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot.

Continue to avoid high consequence terrain and features where triggering deeper layers is more likely. Avalanche activity has tapered off but there is still a possibility of triggering large destructive avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported on Tuesday.

On Monday a few natural wind slab avalanches were observed. These avalanches were small, size 1, and occurred on north and east aspects.

Snowpack Summary

Southerly winds have scoured south facing slopes in the alpine and formed wind slab on specific northerly features. In Sheltered terrain a new layer of surface hoar is on or near the surface. A thick crust formed in late December is down 20 to 50cm. at lower elevations this crust is up to 15cm thick, in the alpine it is thin and breakable.

The mid-snowpack consists of moist snow below the crust at lower elevations. At higher elevations, the snowpack is more complex and multiple crusts can be found.

Near the base of the snowpack, a weak facet/crust layer from mid November can be found and is still a concern. In general the snowpack is weak, faceted and shallow.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with light flurries bringing trace amounts of new snow. Moderate to strong southeast winds and a low of -9 at 1800m.

Thursday

Stormy with a few centimeters of new snow expected during the day, and another few in the evening. Moderate to strong southeast winds and freezing levels rising to 1300m.

Friday

Stormy with 5 to 15cm of new snow expected. Strong southerly winds. Freezing level around 1500m.

Saturday

Cloudy with 5 to 15cm of new snow expected. Moderate southerly winds and freezing levels around 1500m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.