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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 13th, 2023–Feb 14th, 2023

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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, Powell River, Spearhead, Tantalus, Sasquatch.

Dangerous avalanche conditions exist in the alpine where storm snow and strong winds have built fresh wind slabs.

Be alert to conditions that change with aspect and elevation, especially on slopes being impacted by direct sun. Periods of intense solar radiation could quickly initiate a natural avalanche cycle.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Monday afternoon, search and rescue technicians responded to a fatal avalanche incident north of the Sea to Sky region. The avalanche is believed to have occurred on Saturday and was initiated in a shallow rocky area. See the MIN for more details.

On Saturday, wind-affected snow was reported to be reactive to skier traffic. A size 2 wind slab avalanche was skier triggered on a west aspect at 1700 m as the skier passed over a convex roll. See MIN for photos of the slide. A skier accidental size 1.5 storm slab avalanche was reported on a steep, northeast, treeline feature.

Evidence of several size 3 natural slab avalanches was observed. It is believed these avalanches ran within the storm on the late January persistent weak layer.

On Wednesday, a rider triggered a size 2.5 persistent slab avalanche on a weak layer from mid-January. See MIN for photos and details.

Snowpack Summary

5-10 cm of recent storm snow overlies 40-70 cm of wind-affected snow. As you descend in elevation wind effect decreases and the temperature effect increases and the new snow may overlie a crust.

A series of crusts are found in the mid-pack at varying depths throughout the region. A crust from late January is found at all elevations down 40-100 cm with small facets above it. In the Rhododendron and Pemberton Icefield area, this crust has been reactive to skier traffic and in test pits at treeline. In the Brandywine area, a crust found 60-150 cm deep resulted in a few surprisingly large rider-triggered avalanches in the past few days. This layer exists to 1900 m.

Total snowpack depths are reaching 300 cm in some areas.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Partly cloudy with isolated flurries, 2-3 cm accumulation. West winds switch to the north 20 km/h. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Freezing levels drop from 1000 m to valley bottom.

Tuesday

Sunny. Light variable winds. Treeline temperature -10 °C. Freezing level 800 m.

Wednesday

Mainly sunny with clouds increasing in the afternoon. Winds west 10 to 25 km/h. Treeline temperature -7 °C. Freezing level 600 m.

Thursday

Mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries, trace accumulation. Winds southwest 20 km/h gusting to 40 km/h. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Freezing level 800 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Potential for wide propagation exists, fresh slabs may rest on surface hoar, facets and/or crust.
  • Avoid exposure to overhead hazards when solar radiation is strong.

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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.