Avalanche Forecast
Northwest Coastal
Pockets of reactive wind slab remain a concern for wind-exposed alpine and tree line areas.
Avalanche Problem 1: Wind Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Be cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.
- Watch for whumpfing, stiff or hollow sounding snow, and shooting cracks.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed.
Snowpack Summary
Only about 10cm of new snow has fallen in the new year.
Cold temperatures and strong winds (from a wide range of directions) have affected the surface snow over the past week, scouring some slopes down to an old crust and forming hard deposits in many other areas. There are some lingering wind slabs, found on a variety of old surfaces including a thick melt-freeze crust that formed in mid-December. Cornices have also been noted at ridge tops, lee (downwind) to strong north east winds last week.
In non-wind affected terrain, 20-40 cm of unconsolidated (aka faceted or 'sugary') snow overlies the mid-December crust layer. This snow has been sluffing in steep terrain.
Beneath the mid-December crust the snowpack is reported to be generally strong with the possible exception of areas around Stewart and northern parts of the region where the late-October, basal crust can be found near the base of the snowpack. Weak sugary snow may exist around this basal crust and could be triggered from shallow snowpack areas.
Weather Forecast
Isolated flurries for one more day before snow arrives on Thursday and Friday.
WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries. Ridge wind moderate from the south. Temperature -1. Freezing level 500m.
THURSDAY: Snow. Accumulation 10-15 cm. Ridge wind moderate from the south. Temperature -2. Freezing level 600 m.
FRIDAY: Snow. Accumulation 10-15 cm. Ridge wind moderate to strong south west. Temperature -1. Freezing level 500m.
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Wind slabs may be lingering around ridge crests, exposed gullies and cross-loaded slopes. These wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the buried mid-December crust layer and reactive to human triggers such as a skier or rider.