Avalanche forecast

Sea To Sky

Dec 28 – 29, 2012Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Mon
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–4
    Stubborn wind slabs exist in many alpine and open treeline areas. These may be difficult to spot because they have been buried by light snowfall. Cornices may also be weak.

Confidence

Good

Weather Forecast

Friday night and Saturday: Light snowfall on Friday night with a clearing trend throughout Saturday / Moderate southwest winds associated with Friday's system becoming light and northwesterly on Saturday / Freezing level at 900mSunday: Clear skies / Light and variable winds / Freezing level at 900m with the possibility of an inversionMonday: Mostly clear skies / Light southwest winds / Freezing level at 1100m with the possibility of an inversion

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday several size 1 very soft slab avalanches were triggered by ski cutting. A size 1.5 natural cornice release was observed in the region on Thursday. No slab released on the slope below.

Snowpack Summary

Relatively new and buried wind slabs may be found in alpine and open treeline terrain. Fragile cornices exist. A couple of storm snow weaknesses have been observed, but these are likely to be short-lived. In sheltered areas below treeline, loose snow is slowly becoming more consolidated. In general, the mid-pack is strong.Near the base of the snowpack, a crust/facet layer is now unlikely to be triggered. However, professionals are still mindful of thin snowpack trigger areas or large loads which could wake it up again, leading to a very large avalanche.

Regions covered