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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 21st, 2022–Dec 22nd, 2022

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

Regions

South Coast, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot.

If pushing into bigger terrain continue to assess for cohesive, wind slabs on the surface. Recent snow may still need time to bond to the underlying layers.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

A small slab overlaying a crust was triggered from a short distance away on Tuesday, as reported in this MIN report.

If you head out into the mountains, please share your photos or observations on the Mountain Information Network. Your information helps us understand local conditions!

Snowpack Summary

Roughly 50 cm of low-density snow has fallen since Sunday. The new snow is generally light, loose, and unconsolidated. in sheltered northerly terrain, recent snow has buried a weak layer of surface hoar over a melt-freeze crust.

The mid and lower snowpack generally well settled and bonding.

At treeline the snowpack depth generally is 100 to 170 cm.

Weather Summary

Cold arctic air continues to blanket Southwest BC until Friday when a warm and wet storm begins to move inland.

Wednesday night

Clear. temperatures -10 to -20 C and light to moderate easterly winds in the alpine.

Thursday

Sunny with clouds building in the afternoon, and no precipitation. Temperatures -10 to -20 C and light northeast winds.

Friday

Cloudy with snow, up to 20 cm. Temperatures of 0 to -5 C, and moderate to strong south winds. Freezing levels rise to around 1000 m.

Saturday

Cloudy with rain and wet snow (approximately 40mm). Temperatures above freezing, and strong winds in the alpine. Freezing levels rise to around 2000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.

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.