Avalanche forecast

Northwest Coastal

Dec 26 – 27, 2017Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Little change with no significant snow in the forecast. Wind slabs lingering in exposed terrain remain the main concern.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Wind slabs are likely lingering around ridge crests and exposed gullies after a strong bout of outflow winds. Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to a buried crust.

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny, light west winds, treeline temperatures around -15 C.THURSDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, light west winds, treeline temperatures around -15 C. FRIDAY: Light flurries with trace accumulations, light southwest winds, treeline temperatures around -15 C.

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches have been reported. A skier remotely triggered a large wind slab (size 2) near the Shames area on Sunday. The avalanche started on a steep south-facing rocky ridgetop at 1400 m.

Snowpack Summary

Strong outflow winds dramatically affected the surface snow over the past week, scouring some slopes down to an old crust and forming hard deposits in many other areas. Sheltered areas may still have 20-40 cm of powder from previous storms, but winds have come from a variety of directions and affected much of the terrain. Wind slabs rest on a variety of old surfaces including a thick melt-freeze crust. In some sheltered locations, soft feathery surface hoar crystals may sit above the crust.The snowpack is reported to be generally strong below this crust, with the possible exception of areas around Stewart and northern parts of the region where the late October crust can be found deep in the snowpack. This deep crust has been been associated with weak sugary snow and could possible be triggered in shallow snowpack areas.

Regions covered