Avalanche Forecast
Sea To Sky
Human triggered avalanches remain possible Wednesday, especially in steep wind loaded features near ridgetop where the recent storm snow is settling into a slab that rests on a crust.
Avalanche Problem 1: Storm Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Choose relatively conservative lines and watch for clues of instability.
- Be cautious in lee features above treeline, wind stiffened storm slabs rest on a buried crust.
- Carefully evaluate bigger terrain features on an individual basis before committing to them.
Avalanche Summary
On Monday control work produced avalanches to size 2 with crowns averaging 20 cm in depth. On Sunday ski cutting in the alpine triggered small avalanches in steep lee terrain.
Snowpack Summary
10 to 15 cm of light density snow from Monday night and Tuesday now rests on 20 to 30 cm of slightly heavier snow that fell over the weekend. This snow was redistributed by moderate to strong southeast through southwest winds on Sunday. All of this snow is above the the January 6th crust which is present to at least 2100 m, maybe higher. This crust is reportedly breakable below 2100 m. Below the crust there is about 20 cm of settled moist snow.
Up to 100 cm below the surface there is a widespread melt-freeze crust that was buried on December 15th, but this layer has not produced any recent avalanche activity and is trending towards dormancy.
Beneath the mid-December crust, the lower snowpack is generally strong and well settled.
Weather Forecast
The parade of Pacific storms will continue across southern B.C for the next several days, keeping alpine snow packs building through Thursday. The next system on Wednesday will be weak and affect mainly the south coast. Thursday's storm will be the main event of the week and feature moderate to heavy snow for the south coast alpine and much of the interior. The biggest snow accumulations this week will be over the South Coast and Interior Ranges.
WEDNESDAY: Overcast, freezing level around 600 m, light to moderate west/southwest wind, 1 to 3 cm of snow possible.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Freezing level at 600 m, moderate south wind, 10 to 15 cm of snow possible.
THURSDAY: Overcast, freezing around 600 m, moderate southwest wind, 5 to 10 cm of snow possible.
FRIDAY: Overcast, freezing level around 600 m, light variable wind, no snow expected.
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10 to 40 cm of recent storm snow is beginning to settle and bond to a thin crust that is present to at least 2100 m, possibly higher. This slab may still be sensitive to human triggering, especially in steep wind loaded features in the alpine.