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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 4th, 2024–Dec 5th, 2024

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

Regions

Sea To Sky, South Coast, South Coast Inland, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Powell River, Spearhead, Tantalus, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron, Birkenhead, Coquihalla, Duffey, Harrison-Fraser, Manning, Skagit, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

Mild temperature and elevated freezing level continue.

Uncertainty remains whether the heat will continue to impact the snowpack.

Back off steep slopes if moist / wet snow surface is found.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Numerous wet loose avalanches (size 1.5 to 2) were naturally triggered by the sun on steep sun-exposed terrain at treeline and alpine throughout the region in the last 3 days.

If you are going out in the backcountry, please consider filling out a Mountain Information Network (MIN) report.

Snowpack Summary

The surface consists of a mix of melt-freeze crust and moist snow on all aspects.

Alpine slopes are wind-affected, scoured, or hold a thin surface crust. At treeline, a widespread layer of large weak surface hoar crystals was observed at the snow surface on sheltered terrain.

The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled and bonded.

Snow depths vary from 100 to 140 cm at treeline and decrease rapidly below 1500 m, exposing early-season hazards.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +4 °C. Freezing level 1000 m. Alpine temperature inversion.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +4 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.

Friday

Cloudy with 10 to 20 mm of rain. 50 to 70 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +4 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.

Saturday

Cloudy with heavy rain or wet snow. 30 to 50 mm. 40 to 60 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +2°C. Freezing level 2500 m lowering to 1000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling, and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.
  • Avoid steep, sun-exposed slopes when the air temperature is warm or when solar radiation is strong.
  • Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.

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.