Avalanche forecast

South Columbia

Apr 22 – 23, 2016Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Mon
Alpine
No rating
Treeline
No rating
Below
No rating
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Highlights

You'll have to wait until Monday for clear weather as light rain is forecast for the weekend. Expect deteriorating snow stability (and ski quality).

Avalanche problems

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–5
    Be sure there is more than air under your feet when traveling on corniced ridges. Despite the slight cooling trend, cornices will remain sensitive to human triggering.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely - Very Likely
    Size
    1–4
    Forecast rain will promote ongoing loose wet avalanche activity. Areas of greatest concern are steep gullies and faces at elevations below the snow line.

  • Wet Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–6
    Destructive wet slab avalanches should still be on your radar, especially with forecast rain. Wet slabs may fail on layers in the mid snowpack, or at the ground.

Weather Forecast

Saturday: 3-5mm of rain / Light and variable ridgetop winds / Freezing level at 2400m Sunday: 3-5mm of rain / Light and variable ridgetop winds / Freezing level at 2200m Monday: Mix of sun and cloud / Light and variable ridgetop winds / Freezing level at 1800m

Avalanche Summary

Most commercial operations have closed for the season, and data is becoming sparse. If you have any avalanche activity to report, please consider sharing through the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Monitoring the snow surface is very important during the spring. If the snow surface does not freeze overnight or if the crust is only a few cm thick, the effect of daytime heating, rain or solar radiation will weaken the snowpack much more quickly than it would if there is a well frozen thick crust. This is because the crust must first melt before the sun or rain can weaken the snowpack. Deeply buried weak layers in the mid snowpack and near the ground still have the potential to wake up and become active with a rapid warm up. While unlikely, releases on these deeply buried weak layers would result in very large avalanches. Glide cracks are widespread, active, and best avoided. Cornices are large, fragile, and could trigger deep slab avalanches that run to valley bottoms. The snowpack in many areas has become isothermal, meaning the snowpack is 0 degrees Celsius throughout. An isothermal snowpack is more prone to full depth wet slab avalanches during the heat of the day.

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