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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 14th, 2023–Dec 15th, 2023

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

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Spearhead, Tantalus, Sky Pilot.

Heightened avalanche conditions exist on wind loaded terrain in the alpine. Avoid freshly loaded features, especially around ridge crests, roll-overs and steep terrain.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

On Thursday, a few skier controlled, size 1 storm slab avalanches were reported by operators. A few size 1- 1.5 natural wind slab avalanches were observed, with 20-30 cm crowns, in northwest lee features at 2000 m. These are suspected to have run on the crust buried 30 cm deep.

If you're heading out in the backcountry, please consider sharing any observations on the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

10 cm of storm snow covers a 1-2 cm thick melt-freeze crust that extends well into the alpine. In sheltered areas, a layer of surface hoar may be found above the crust.

At treeline and above there are two layers of concern in the mid-pack. Both layers consist of a crust that tapers at higher elevations covered by a layer of fragile surface hoar in sheltered areas. These are found down around 40 cm and 60 cm consecutively. No recent avalanche activity has been reported on these layers but it continues to be reactive in snowpack tests.

Overall, the snow depth remains relatively shallow, with numerous hazards present at or just below the snow surface across all elevations.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Partly cloudy with no precipitation, southwest ridgetop wind increases from 20 to 40 km/h through the night, treeline temperature -2 °C, freezing level 1000 m.

Friday

Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries bringing mixed precipitation, 1 to 4 cm accumulation, southwest alpine wind 40 km/h, treeline temperature 0 °C, freezing level rising to 2000 m through the day.

Saturday

Mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries, trace accumulation, southwest alpine wind 50 km/h, treeline temperature +1 °C, freezing level 2000 m.

Sunday

Mainly sunny with no precipitation, west alpine wind 30 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature +3 °C, freezing level 3000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
  • Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.

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.