New snow and wind continue to create touchy storm slabs reactive to human triggers, especially in wind effected areas at treeline and above.
Avalanche Problem 1: Storm Slabs




- Be cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
- Stay off recent wind loaded areas until the slope has had a chance to stabilize.
- The new snow may require several days to settle and stabilize.
Avalanche Summary
Two natural storm slab avalanches stepped-down to facets at the bottom of the snowpack and resulted in 3-3.5 avalanches. They occurred on north and south aspects between 2000 and 2250 m. The extended period of continuous loading of the snowpack may begin to reactivate deeply buried weak layers resulting in large and destructive avalanches running full path.
Snowpack Summary
15 cm of new snow on Friday morning brings recent storm totals to 70-100cm. Moderate southerly winds continue to redistribute the new snow. Last weekend's strong to extreme southeasterly ridgetop winds likely created dense storm slabs lurking in lee and cross-loaded features at treeline and above.
90-120cm below the surface you'll likely find a few crusts that were buried during the first few weeks of January. Due to limited observations, not much is known about the current reactivity of these layers.
The lower snowpack includes the mid-December crust layer. The load of the new snow may tip the balance and reactivate this layer in isolated terrain - particularly in the north of the region where it's shown prolonged reactivity in snowpack tests.
Weather Forecast
SATURDAY: 10-20 cm of new snow / Moderate to strong southwesterly ridgetop winds / Freezing level rising to around 1000m.
SUNDAY: 10-20 cm of new snow / Strong southwesterly ridgetop winds / Freezing level rapidly rising to around 1800m.
MONDAY: 10-20 cm of new snow / Strong southwesterly ridgetop winds / Freezing level around 1800m.
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
- South Coast Inland URL:
http://www.avalanche.ca/api/forecasts/south-coast-inland.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.
New snow and wind continue to build storm slabs reactive to human triggers.