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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 24th, 2023–Feb 25th, 2023

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
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.

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Powell River, Spearhead, Tantalus, Sasquatch.

Watch for changing conditions. As new snow and wind arrive on Saturday afternoon, fresh reactive wind slabs may form in exposed areas.

Sheltered terrain will offer the best and safest riding.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

On Thursday, numerous reports came in of human-triggered size 1 to 2 wind slabs. These slabs occurred on a variety of aspects in the alpine all the way down to below treeline terrain.

Looking forward to Saturday, snowfall and increasing southwesterly winds may form small but reactive wind slabs by the end of the day. Riders should be aware that stiffer and less reactive slabs may linger in lee and cross-loaded areas from previous strong northeasterly winds.

Snowpack Summary

Previous northeasterly winds have redistributed recent storm snow and formed stiff wind slabs in exposed areas. In sheltered areas, surface faceting due to cold temperatures and/or soft surface snow remains.

There are two crusts with facets sitting above, which are buried in the snowpack down 60-180cm in the alpine and treeline elevation bands. These crust/facet layers have been responsible for several large avalanches in the past 2 weeks in the Brandywine and Pemberton Icefield areas.

Weather Summary

Friday night

A mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperatures around -14 °C. Light ridge wind. Freezing level at valley bottom.

Saturday

Cloudy with snowfall intensifying in the afternoon, up to 5 cm accumulation by end of day. Alpine temperatures reach a high of -9 °C. Mostly light ridge wind occasionally gusting to 40 km/h from the southwest. Freezing level at valley bottom.

Sunday

Flurries tapering in the afternoon, 5-10 cm of accumulation. Alpine temperatures reach a high of -8 °C. Mostly light ridge wind occasionally gusting to 40 km/h from the southwest. Freezing level 800 meters.

Monday

A mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperatures reach a high of -9 °C. Mostly light ridge wind occasionally gusting to 35 km/h from the southeast. Freezing level 800 meters.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.

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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.