Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Dec 21st, 2022 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Deep Persistent Slabs.
isnowsell,
Avalanche Canada
The snowpack is generally weak, facetted, and lacks cohesion. Assess for surface instabilities that have the potential to step down to deeper weak layers.
Check out the most recent Forecasters' Blog, discussing how to manage extreme cold conditions.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanche activity has been reported over the last few days.
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Snowpack Summary
Generally, the snowpack is unusually shallow and has a layer deep in the snowpack made up of weak facets and depth hoar. At lower elevations and shallower areas, the snowpack remains mostly unconsolidated.
The height of snow is roughly 50 to 200 cm at treeline.
Weather Summary
Cold arctic air continues to blanket Southwest BC until Thursday night when a warm and wet storm begins to move inland.
Wednesday night
Clear. Temperatures around -25 C and light northeast winds in the alpine.
Thursday
Sunny with building clouds, and no precipitation. Temperatures -15 to -25 C and light easterly winds.
Friday
Cloudy with snow, up to 10 cm. Temperatures of -5 to -15 C, and moderate southwest winds.
Saturday
Cloudy with snow. Up to 20 cm. Temperatures around -5 C and strong south winds in the alpine.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- If triggered, loose dry avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
- Use careful route-finding and stick to moderate slope angles with low consequences.
Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
Much of the lower snowpack is made up of weak, unconsolidated facets and depth hoar crystals. Steer clear of large slopes with a cohesive slab on the surface, likely created by previous wind loading. Any small avalanche or sluff in steep terrain has the potential to step down to this deeper layer, resulting in a large avalanche.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Dec 22nd, 2022 4:00PM
