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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 13th, 2023–Dec 14th, 2023

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

Regions

Northwest Coastal, Boundary, Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Stewart, Howson.

Recent storm snow has buried a layer of surface hoar. The snowpack will need some time to adjust to the new load.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Numerous explosive-triggered avalanches up to size 2.5 were reported on Tuesday. Primarily in the north of the region. We suspect a natural avalanche cycle to have occurred Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

If you are out in the backcountry please consider filling out a MIN report.

Snowpack Summary

Approximately 20 to 30 cm of new snow has been redistributed by strong southerly alpine winds. Buried by this most recent snow may be a layer of feathery surface hoar crystals. Another layer of surface hoar may exist deeper in the snowpack, roughly 50 to 70 cm below the surface.

The remaining mid and lower snowpack contains several crusts from early in the season that are generally well-bonded to the surrounding snowpack. Currently, the height of snow is highly variable and decreases significantly at lower elevations.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Mostly cloudy with 0 to 10 cm of snow (higher amounts in the north of the region), southwest alpine winds 40 to 60 km/h, treeline temperature -5 °C.

Thursday

Mix of sun and cloud with no precipitation, southwest alpine winds 40 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature -3 °C.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with 2 to 10 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 60 to 80 km/h, treeline temperature -4 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with trace precipitation, southwest alpine winds 40 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature -3 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.