Avalanche forecast

Sea To Sky

Feb 7 – 8, 2017Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 10 years ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate

Highlights

Storm slabs may remain reactive to human triggers in areas where sun or wind has created a cohesive slab. Avoid slopes where the snow feels stiff or slabby.

Avalanche problems

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–3
    Storm slab reactivity may persist for longer than usual due to the presence of buried surface hoar (feathery crystals) or hard crusts.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Wednesday: Clear, becoming cloudy mid-day / Light, southerly winds/ Freezing level sea level.Wednesday night: 20-25 cm new snow / Moderate, southwesterly winds/ Freezing level beginning to rise.Thursday: 25-30 cm new snow / Strong, southwesterly winds / Freezing level rising to 1400 m.Friday: Mostly cloudy with flurries / Light, westerly winds / Freezing level 900 m.

Avalanche Summary

On Monday, a natural size 2 and a skier triggered size 1 storm slab avalanche were reported west of Whistler.

Snowpack Summary

40-80 cm of recent storm snow has buried a wide variety of old snow surfaces including stiff wind slab or wind effected snow at upper elevations, sun crust on steep southerly slopes, surface hoar(up to 10 mm) in sheltered locations. In sheltered ares where the recent storm snow is overlying surface hoar(weak, feathery crystals), you may see increased reactivity on this layer as the storm snow begins to settle into a more cohesive slab. The mid-January interface (facets) is buried approximately 100-180 cm down. The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled (strong). However, there remain a number of facet and crust layers that are currently dormant but will require monitoring with additional loading.

Regions covered