Avalanche forecast

Sea To Sky

Feb 19, 2018Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 9 years ago

Avalanche danger

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

Wind slabs at higher elevations are the primary concern. Sheltered trees offer the best and safest riding.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–2
    Strong winds from the north have blown recent snow into touchy slabs at higher elevations.

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2.5
    Large cornices have formed along ridgelines. They need to be given an extra wide berth from above and below.

Confidence

High - The weather pattern is stable

Weather Forecast

MONDAY: Sunny with moderate north wind and alpine high temperatures around -12 C.TUESDAY: Mostly sunny, light wind, alpine high temperatures around -12 C.WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries, moderate north wind, alpine high temperatures around -10 C.

Avalanche Summary

Several small wind slabs (size 1) were reported in alpine terrain on Sunday, including a few that ran on buried sun crusts that were up to 60 cm deep on west and south aspects. The wind slabs were reactive to skier and explosive triggers.More widespread avalanche activity was reported during the storm on Saturday, including many size 1 skier-triggered slabs and a few size 2 natural slabs out of alpine terrain.

Snowpack Summary

In sheltered terrain, cold weather is preserving 30-40 cm of low density snow. In exposed terrain, strong north winds have scoured north facing slopes and loaded south facing slopes. A crust layer can be found beneath the storm snow on sun-exposed slopes and below 1900 m, which has supported some wide propagations in recent storm slab avalanches. Deeper in the snowpack, avalanche professionals are still monitoring the mid-January crust. This layer is now 150-200 cm deep, but a heavy trigger (cornice?) or the next major storm could potentially wake up this layer.

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