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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 16th, 2023–Dec 17th, 2023

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, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

South Coast, Powell River, North Shore, Tetrahedron.

Spring like weather may break down the surface snow, creating the possibility of small wet loose avalanches in steep terrain features.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches have been reported in this region. Small wet avalanches may be possible to be triggered by riders on steep slopes as the warming affects the snowpack.

If you do head into the backcountry please submit any observations and or photos on the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

A widespread melt freeze crust likely exists to mountain top. As the freezing level rises over the day, this may begin to soften and break down.

The mid and lower snowpack is made up of a series of crusts and rounded grains. The snowpack is generally well consolidated.

Overall, the snow depth remains shallow, creating challenging travel conditions and hiding early season hazards just below the snow surface.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy with no snowfall, westerly wind 30-40 km/h. Freezing level rise to 2500 m.

Sunday

Mostly sunny. Westerly wind 20-30 km/h. Treeline temperatures rise to +6 °C, as the freezing levels spike to 3000 m.

Monday

Partly cloudy with southerly winds, 20-30 km/h. Treeline temperatures rise to +4 °C, freezing levels around 2500 m.

Tuesday

Cloudy with southerly winds, 20-30 km/h. Treeline temperatures rise to +4 °C, freezing levels start the day at 2500 m and drop to 1500 m over the day.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for unstable snow on specific terrain features, especially when the snow is moist or wet.
  • Avoid sun exposed slopes, especially if snow surface is moist or wet.
  • Be cautious of buried obstacles especially below treeline.

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.