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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 28th, 2023–Dec 29th, 2023

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.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

Watch for sign of instability on steep slopes as freezing levels rise to above mountain tops.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported. Our field team did note some pinwheeling and loose wet debris was present while out on Wednesday.

Please help out your backcountry community by submitting a MIN report if you head out to the backcountry.

Snowpack Summary

5 to 30 cm of storm snow is moist to wet and settling rapidly. This sits on a melt freeze crust that formed over the holidays. Beneath this there is moist snow to ground. Below treeline, you'll find dirt, or shallow and wet snow.

The current snow depth ranges from 70 to 120 cm at treeline, diminishing rapidly below 1000 m.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy. Southeasterly winds, 40-60 km/h. Treeline temperature around 1 °C. Freezing levels rising to 2000 m.

Friday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 mm of rain. Southerly winds, 70-90 km/h. Treeline temperature around 4 °C. Freezing levels rising to 2400 m.

Saturday

Overcast with clouds breaking late in the day with 5 to 15 mm precipitation. Southerly winds, 40-60 km/h. Treeline temperatures around 1 °C. Freezing levels falling to 1800 m.

Sunday

Mix of sun and clouds. Southerly winds, 10-20 km/h. Treeline temperature around 0 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid steep slopes when air temperatures are warm, it is raining, or solar radiation is strong.
  • Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.
  • Minimize exposure during periods of heavy loading from rain.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.