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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 4th, 2023–Feb 5th, 2023

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

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

Seek out sheltered simple terrain for the best riding conditions. Storm snow on steep slopes and wind affected features may remain reactive to human triggers.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, natural storm slabs were reported to size 1.5.

On Thursday, several small wind slab avalanches were skier accidentally triggered, skier remotely triggered and naturally triggered up to size 1. All avalanches were reported on north and east aspects at 2000 m.

If you head to the backcountry please post your reports and photos to the Mountain Information Network, the information is very helpful to forecasters.

Snowpack Summary

Expect up to 30 cm of storm snow at higher elevations by Sunday morning. At lower elevations this may have fallen as mixed precipitation or rain. Storm snow overlies old wind affected surfaces and hard crusts. Strong southwest winds are transporting storm snow and building deep pockets in on north and east facing terrain.

A crust from mid-January can be found down 40 to 70 cm deep. A number of weak layers exist within the middle and lower snowpack, but the thick crusts sitting above them make triggering avalanches on these layers unlikely. The areas of concern in terms of triggering a deeper layer are shallow rocky areas.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Cloudy skies overnight with 5-10 cm of snow expected overnight. Freezing levels sit around 1200 m, with moderate southerly winds.

Sunday

Cloudy skies, 5 cm of snow expected. Freezing levels sit around 1000-1500 m, with southerly winds easing to light westerlies.

Monday

Mostly cloudy skies with up to 15 cm of snow. Strong west/southwest winds. Freezing levels around 1500 m.

Tuesday

Cloudy. Moderate to heavy snowfall with strong southwest winds. Freezing levels around 1000 m.

Tuesday

Cloudy with isolated flurries, 10-15 cm accumulation. Southwesterly ridgetop winds 40 to 60 km/h. Treeline temperatures warm to -1 ˚C. Freezing levels 1300 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Don't be too cavalier with decision making, storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.