Avalanche Forecast
Regions: East Island, North Island, South Island, Vancouver Island, West Island.
Carefully assess conditions as you move through terrain. There may be a poor bond between new wind slabs and the underlying crust.
If more than 20cm of new snow is observed treat it as a storm slab.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported in the past few days. We suspect rider triggerable wind slabs will be found on Thursday.
Snowpack Summary
On sun-exposed slopes and below 1000 m, a surface melt-freeze crust exists from Tuesday's sun and warm air. Above 1000 m on shaded slopes, a new layer of surface hoar sits above up to 10cm of new snow over a crust. Strong to extreme northerly wind redistributed this snow into wind slabs on atypical southerly slopes. These wind slabs may linger at high elevations.
The remainder of the snowpack is consolidated and strong.
Weather Summary
Wednesday Night
Cloudy with up to 10cm of new snow expected. Strong westerly wind and a low of -5 at 1500m.
Thursday
Stormy with up to 15cm of new snow. Light to moderate southerly winds and a high of -4 at 1500m.
Friday
A mix of sun and cloud with the possibility of light flurries bringing trace amounts of new snow. Light to moderate northwest winds and a high of -4 at 1500m.
Saturday
Cloudy with up to 5cm of new snow expected. Light westerly winds and a high of -4 at 1500m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
- Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Variable winds over the past few days mean that wind slabs could be found on all aspects at treeline and above. The underlying crust may prevent wind slabs from bonding resulting in larger and more reactive slabs.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2