Avalanche Forecast
Sea To Sky
Ho, ho, HO! Here's to hoping for some appreciable snowfall later in the week. We won't see much change until then.
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.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
- Watch for stiff or hollow feeling snow, whumpfing, or shooting cracks.
Avalanche Summary
There have been no reports of avalanche activity since last week when there was a report of a small (size 1) skier accidental wind slab release on a north aspect in the alpine on Thursday. Last Wednesday, several small, skier-triggered avalanches were reported as well as explosives triggered slab avalanches up to Size 3 (stepping down to the late November crust) on wind-loaded slopes in the alpine and at treeline.
Snowpack Summary
A light dusting of new snow now covers a highly variable snowpack surface with hard and soft wind slabs as well as wind-scoured areas of exposed crust in the alpine, and soft unconsolidated snow in sheltered areas at treeline and below treeline.
Approximately 5 cm of new snow overlies 20-40cm of old storm snow above the December 15th melt-freeze crust that formed on all aspects and elevations. Recent snowpack tests have ranged from no results, to moderate to hard resistant results on the December 15th layer.
Beneath the December 15th layer lies at least 10 cm of sugary snow crystals (facets) and the late November crust, which is now buried 70-100 cm with a thin layer of facets above. Beneath this crust the lower snowpack is well settled.
Some recent conditions reports can be found on the Mountain Information Network (MIN) here, and here.
Weather Forecast
TUESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Ridge wind light from the west. Temperature -8. Freezing level surface.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy, flurries. Accumulation 5 cm. Ridge wind moderate from the southwest. Temperature -8. Freezing level surface.
THURSDAY: Snow. Accumulation 10 - 20 cm. Ridge wind moderate from the southwest. Temperature -3. Freezing level 700 m.
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
- Sea To Sky URL:
http://www.avalanche.ca/api/forecasts/sea-to-sky.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.
Variable winds have created both hard and soft wind slabs on most aspects in the alpine and exposed treeline areas. These slabs overlie the December 15th crust and may still be reactive to light loads such as a skier or rider.