Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Nov 23rd, 2018 3:45PM

The alpine rating is moderate, the treeline rating is low, and the below treeline rating is low. Known problems include Wind Slabs.

jfloyer, Avalanche Canada

Sea To Sky.

For those that make it to the alpine: well done! Now watch out for wind slabs.

Summary

Confidence

Low - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Friday night: Dry and clear.Saturday: Dry, with cloud building through the day. Light southwesterly winds. Freezing level around 900 m.Sunday: Mostly dry during the day, with snow or rain starting in the evening. Light southerly winds. Freezing level rising rapidly to around 1500 m in the afternoon.Monday: A significant storm is expected bringing up to 70 mm rain, strong southerly winds and freezing levels around 2200 m.

Avalanche Summary

Small storm and wind slab avalanches were triggered by explosives and skiers in alpine terrain on Thursday.

Snowpack Summary

The deepest snow is found at alpine elevations, with amounts around 60-80 cm. Around 30 cm of new snow lies above previous wind slabs that formed with strong southerly winds on Wednesday. Below lies a thin crust, now buried around 50 cm. A thicker lower crust, that may be associated with weak faceted crystals in some places lies close to the ground. This is most likely to cause problems in glaciated terrain or on high slopes where the summer snow did not melt out.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Pockets of wind-loaded snow likely exist in exposed areas behind ridges and peaks.

Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where small avalanches may have severe consequences.

Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, North West.

Elevations: Alpine.

Likelihood

Possible

Expected Size

1 - 1.5

Valid until: Nov 24th, 2018 2:00PM