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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 11th, 2022–Dec 12th, 2022

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

South Coast, Garibaldi, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron, Harrison-Fraser.

You're most likely to encounter avalanche problems at higher elevations near ridges and peaks that are away from the coast where the snow was deep, dry, and will take more time to settle and gain strength.

Watch for rapid changes to the upper snowpack if the wind picks up or the sun comes out!

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

During the storm on Saturday, several small (size 1) natural and human-triggered storm slab avalanches were reported in the North Shore mountains. These avalanches occurred at treeline and below treeline on a variety of aspects.

Looking forward to Monday, we expect storm slab activity to drop off with cooling temperatures. The avalanche problem will likely be more confined to wind-loaded areas at upper elevations. Be cautious around these denser and deeper slabs as they may remain sensitive to human triggering.

Keep sharing your observations via the MIN; it helps strengthen our information gathering.

Snowpack Summary

Upper snowpack: Last week's storm snow totals around 50 to 70 cm. This storm arrived warm and mixed with rain near the coast (e.g. North Shore Mountains). This new snow is sitting on a sun crust on steep, solar aspects and feathery surface hoar crystals in isolated sheltered and shaded areas. Mid-pack: softer, weaker layers of less cohesive snow around 80 - 100 cm down should be gaining strength as they squish. Lower-pack: a thick melt-freeze crust and increasing strength.

At 1000 m the snowpack depth is around 150 cm. In many areas, below treeline elevations are still below the threshold for avalanches.

Weather Summary

Sunday night

Cloudy with clear periods. Alpine temperatures drop to a low of -3 °C. Ridge wind light to 15 km/h from the northeast. Freezing level 100 meters.

Monday

A mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperatures reach a high of -2 °C. Ridge wind light to 20 km/h from the northeast. Freezing level rising to 400 meters.

Tuesday

Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries, trace new snow accumulation. Alpine temperatures reach a high of 1 °C. Light ridge wind. Freezing level rising to 2300 meters.

Wednesday

A mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperatures reach a high of 2 °C. Ridge wind light to 15 km/h. Freezing level rising to 2400 meters.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Start on smaller terrain features and gather information before committing to bigger terrain.
  • Stay off recently wind loaded slopes until they have had a chance to stabilize.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.

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.