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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 5th, 2022–Dec 6th, 2022

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

Regions

South Coast, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron.

Mixed snow conditions can be found: crusty, heavy, powdery and wind-affected.

Evaluate slopes on an individual basis before committing to them.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported in our area lately. Keep sharing your observations via the MIN; it helps strengthen our information gathering.

Snowpack Summary

A thin sun crust has formed on steep south-facing slopes. On other aspects, the surface varies from deeper pockets of wind-affected snow in the alpine and cohesion-less snow at treeline (40-50 cm). Further down in the snowpack, there are reports of a thick melt-freeze crust that produced signs of instabilities earlier this weekend. At around 1000 m the snowpack reaches a depth of around 90 cm.

Lower treeline and below treeline elevation are still below the threshold for avalanches.

Weather Summary

An arctic ridge of high pressure will continue to be the main attraction. Conditions will be dry until the next frontal system, expected Wednesday night.

Monday Night

Partly cloudy. No precipitation. Light to moderate northerly ridge wind. Low -4 C at treeline. Freezing level at valley bottom.

Tuesday

Cloudy. Isolated flurries. 2-5 cm. Northwesterly ridge wind up to 50 km/h. High of -3 C at treeline. Freezing level around 500 m.

Wednesday

Snow in the afternoon 5 cm. Moderate southwesterly ridge wind increasing all day. High of -2 C at treeline. Freezing level around 600 m.

Thursday

Snow 30 cm. Southwesterly ridge wind up to 50 km/h. High of +0 C at treeline. Freezing level around 700 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
  • Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.

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.