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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 22nd, 2024–Apr 23rd, 2024

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

Vancouver Island, East Island, North Island, South Island, West Island.

Small wind slabs may linger near mountain tops. Safe travel habits includes travelling one at a time in high-consequence terrain.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

We haven't received any recent reports of avalanche activity. Looking forward, isolated pockets of wind slabs may linger in lee terrain features near mountain tops. Small loose wet avalanches and cornice falls are also possible with daytime warming.

Please consider sharing your observations to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Around 15 cm of settled soft snow is found on shaded aspects above 1200 m, with potentially thicker deposits found adjacent to ridges. Reports indicate this snow is bonding well to the underlying hard melt-freeze crust. A surface melt-freeze crust is found on sun-exposed slopes and on all aspects at treeline and below.

The remainder of the snowpack is strong.

There is insufficient snow to form avalanches for most below treeline locations.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Partly cloudy. 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 4 °C. Freezing level 2000 m.

Tuesday

Mix of sun and clouds. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 5 °C. Freezing level 1900 m.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy with 1 to 3 cm of snow. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 1400 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
  • Avoid terrain traps such as gullies and cliffs where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.
  • The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.

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.