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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 19th, 2023–Dec 20th, 2023

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
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, Garibaldi, Powell River, Tantalus, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron, Harrison-Fraser.

Carefully assess conditions as you gain elevation. At elevations where precipitation fell as snow storm slabs are possible, where precip fell as rain the problem is most likely wet loose.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches have been reported in this region.

If you do head into the backcountry please submit any observations and or photos on the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

New precipitation could fall as snow in the alpine and upper treeline. This new snow could form wind slab near ridge crests in the alpine. Below treeline the snow surface will likely be moist.

The mid and lower snowpack is made up of a series of crusts and rounded grains. The snowpack is generally well consolidated.

Overall, the snow depth remains shallow, creating challenging travel conditions and hiding early season hazards just below the snow surface.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Cloudy with 15 to 30 mm of mixed precipitation expected, southwest alpine wind 20 to 40 km/h, freezing level around 2000 m.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 mm of mixed precipitation expected, south alpine wind 10 to 35 km/h, freezing level around 2000 m.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy with up to 5mm of rain possible, south alpine wind 20 to 40 km/h, freezing level around 2000 m.

Friday

Cloudy with around 30 cm of new snow expected, southwest alpine wind 25 to 40 km/h, freezing level around 1900 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Don't be too cavalier with decision making, storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.
  • Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
  • The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
  • Keep in mind that wet avalanches can be destructive due to their high density.
  • Be cautious of buried obstacles especially below treeline.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.