Avalanche forecast

Sea To Sky

Apr 8 – 9, 2018Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Freezing levels will rise over Monday along with sunny patches in the afternoon. The warming will weaken the snow and increase the likelihood of triggering slabs, cornices, and loose wet avalanches. Expect the hazard to rise over the day.

Avalanche problems

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–3
    Cornices are very large and fragile. The warming trend will quickly deteriorate their stability. Give them a large berth while on ridges and avoid travelling underneath them, as they can trigger large avalanches on slopes below.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–3
    A weak layer buried 60 to 90 cm is still surprising people and producing large and destructive avalanches. Be particularly cautious around upper treeline and alpine terrain on shady aspects, where this layer is most likely to be a problem.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Storm slabs formed over the weekend and were reactive to human activity. Expect slab and loose wet avalanche activity to increase as the air temperature warms and if the sun comes out.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

MONDAY: Cloudy with light morning snow and afternoon clearing, accumulation 2 to 5 cm, light southwesterly winds, alpine temperature -4 C, freezing level 1500 m rising to 2000 m by late afternoon.TUESDAY: A mix of sun and cloud early morning then mostly cloudy with rain switching to snow at higher elevations, accumulation 10 mm, moderate to strong southerly winds, alpine temperature 0 C, freezing level 2600 m dropping to 1700 m over the day.WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy with light snowfall, light southeasterly winds, alpine temperature -4 C, freezing level 1500 m.

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday, ski cuts and explosives triggered many cornices and storm slabs. Cornices were generally small (size 1.5), but they triggered slabs on slopes below. The storm slabs were also generally small (size 1 to 1.5), 10 to 20 cm thick. Loose wet avalanches were observed below about 1900 m.

Snowpack Summary

Around 30 cm of recent snow and strong southerly winds have created new slabs at higher elevations. This snow overlies a melt-freeze crust. On ridges, cornices are reported to be large and fragile. At lower elevations, recent precipitation fell as rain, so expect moist or wet snow conditions.A weak layer consisting of surface hoar, facets, or a sun crust from late March is now buried about 60 to 90 cm. This layer is spotty in its distribution but has recently produced large avalanches. It is mostly likely to be problematic on shady aspects between 1900 m and 2250 m.Below this, the snowpack is well-settled and strong.

Regions covered