Avalanche Forecast
Northwest Coastal
Sheltered terrain not only offers the best riding right now, but also keeps you away from the lingering wind slabs.
Avalanche Problem 1: Wind Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Be alert to conditions that change with elevation, aspect and exposure to wind.
- Be cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.
- Evaluate unsupported slopes critically.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported. On Thursday, skiers triggered a few small slabs (size 1) on steep wind-loaded features.
Snowpack Summary
Strong outflow winds have dramatically affected the surface snow, scouring some slopes down to an old crust and forming hard deposits in many other areas. Sheltered areas may still have 20 to 50 cm of powder from previous storms, but winds have come from a variety of directions and affected much of the terrain. Wind slabs may rest on a variety of old surfaces including a thick melt-freeze crust (reported to be 3 to 15 cm thick) and in some sheltered locations soft feathery surface hoar crystals above the crust. The mid-pack 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 may still be a concern in shallow snowpack areas.
Weather Forecast
SUNDAY: Sunny with increasing cloud, strong outflow winds, treeline temperatures around -10 C.
MONDAY: Clouds clearing throughout the day, moderate northwest winds, treeline temperatures around -12 C.
TUESDAY: Sunny, moderate northwest winds, treeline temperatures around -12 C.
Avalanche Forecasts in your Inbox
Avalanche Canada has switched to an RSS feed for its daily forecasts. This is a much more flexible method that allows automatic delivery to your email inbox, or to an RSS reader of your choice.
What are RSS feeds?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a popular standardized file format allowing up-to-date delivery of web-based content. RSS feeds enable you to receive content updates from websites, delivered to your email through an RSS aggregator (such as blogtrottr.com) or viewed through applications called RSS readers (such as feedly.com).
Set up an RSS feed for your email:
Select a RSS aggregator
- Northwest Coastal URL:
http://www.avalanche.ca/api/forecasts/northwest-coastal.rss - Copy the url and paste it into the appropriate field of your RSS aggregator.
- Fill in your email address.
- Voila! Watch the Avalanche Canada forecast roll into your inbox.
Forecast Disclaimer
Avalanche Canada's Public Avalanche Bulletin, and other information and services provided by Avalanche Canada, are intended for personal and recreational purposes only.
**THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND IN NO EVENT SHALL THE PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES RESULTING FROM DISCOMFORT, INJURY, OR DEATH, CLAIMS BY THIRD PARTIES OR FOR OTHER SIMILAR COSTS, OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE INFORMATION.**
The user acknowledges that it is impossible to accurately predict natural events such as avalanches in every instance, and uses the data in this bulletin with this always foremost in mind. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and the Providers disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use the data.
Wind slabs exist on a range of aspects and elevations after a week of strong shifting winds.