Avalanche Forecast
Sea To Sky
Expect changing weather on Tuesday: high freezing levels dropping over the day, intense rain switching to snow, and strong winds. Warming will weaken the snow and new snow will form fresh slabs. Be very cautious with these rapid changes.
Avalanche Problem 1: Storm Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Avoid steep slopes when air temperatures are warm, it is raining, or the solar radiation is strong.
- Use ridges or ribs to avoid pockets of wind-loaded snow.
- Avoid overhead exposure, as avalanches may run full-path.
Avalanche Problem 2: Persistent Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
A weak layer buried 60 to 90 cm is still surprising people and producing large and destructive avalanches. Be particularly cautious around upper treeline and alpine terrain on shady aspects, where this layer is most likely to be a problem.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Avoid steep terrain or areas with a thin or variable snowpack.
- Be aware of the potential for wide propagation due to the presence of buried weak layers.
- Pay attention to overhead hazards like cornices, which could trigger persistent slabs.
Avalanche Problem 3: Cornices
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Cornices are very large and fragile. The morning's warm temperatures and rain may quickly deteriorate their stability. Give them a large berth while on ridges and avoid travelling underneath them, as they may trigger avalanches on slopes below.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Avoid travelling on slopes below cornices.
- Give cornices a wide berth when travelling on ridges.
Avalanche Summary
On Sunday, storm slab and loose wet avalanches were widespread across the region. They were small to large (size 1 to 2), on all aspects, and at all elevations. They were triggered naturally, by skiers, and by explosives. Cornices were also reactive, which triggered storm slabs on the slopes below.
Snowpack Summary
Warm temperatures have moistened the snow surface on all aspects and at all elevations. The forecasted snow on Tuesday will fall on this. On ridges, cornices are reported to be large and fragile. At lower elevations, recent precipitation fell as rain, so expect moist or wet snow conditions.
A weak layer consisting of surface hoar, facets, and/or a melt-freeze crust from late March is now buried about 60 to 120 cm. This layer is spotty in its distribution but has recently produced large avalanches. It is mostly likely to be problematic on west, north, and east aspects between 1900 m and 2250 m.
Below this, the snowpack is well-settled and strong.
Weather Forecast
TUESDAY: Cloudy with rain switching to snow, accumulation 20 cm, strong to extreme southwest winds, alpine temperature 0 C dropping to -5 C, freezing level 2600 m dropping to 1300 m over the day.
WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 15 cm, light to moderate south winds, alpine temperature -5 C, freezing level 1300 m.
THURSDAY: A mix of sun and cloud, light southwest winds, alpine temperature -6 C, freezing level 1300 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.
Storm slabs and loose wet avalanches may be reactive in the morning with warm and rainy weather. New storm slabs will form once the rain switches to snow. Slabs will be thicker in lee features, as the snow will fall with strong southwest winds.