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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 23rd, 2023–Dec 24th, 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.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

South Coast Inland, Spearhead, Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

Carefully assess conditions as you gain elevation. In wind exposed terrain above the freezing line, wind slabs are possible.

At low elevations, expect a new breakable crust to begin to form.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Friday near whistler, explosive avalanche control operations working the the alpine trigger two size 2 avalanches and numerous size 1 avalanches. They all failed within the storm snow, just above a buried hard melt-freeze crust from December 21st .

If you're heading out in the backcountry, please consider sharing any observations on the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

The recent storm delivered a range of snow depths, spanning from 10 to 20 cm. This new storm snow covers old wind slabs and crusts in the alpine, and wet surfaces at treeline and below.

At treeline and above two layers of note are buried around 30 to 70 cm deep. Both consist of a crust that tapers at higher elevations, and surface hoar in sheltered areas.

Overall, the snow depth remains shallow, with average treeline snowpack depths between 70 and 100 cm.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy. A trace of snow expected. . Treeline temperature around -5 °C. Freezing level around 500 m. Light southwest ridgetop wind

Sunday

Periods of clearing. No new snow expected. Treeline temperature around 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 1000 m, possible temperature inversion. Moderate southwest ridgetop wind.

Monday

Cloudy. Snow and rain expected 5 to 10 cm . Freezing level rising to 1200-1500 m. Treeline temperature around 0 °C. Moderate gusting strong, south east ridgetop wind.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy. Snow and rain expected 5 to 10 cm. Freezing level around 1500 m. Treeline low around -1°C. Moderate gusting strong, south east ridgetop wind.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.

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.