Avalanche Forecast
South Coast
Cornices and surface snow could become weak when hit by direct sunlight.
Avalanche Problem 1: Cornices
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Give cornices a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.
- Firm cornices may pull back into flat terrain at ridgetop if they fail.
- Avoid slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if they have large cornices overhead.
Avalanche Problem 2: Storm Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Snow from last week's storm is quickly gaining strength, but may still be suspect on south-facing slopes where it sits above a buried sun crust.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Be cautious around steep south-facing slopes.
- Avoid exposure to terrain traps where the consequences of a small avalanche could be serious.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
Avalanche Summary
No recent avalanches have been reported.
Check out this MCR report (here) that talks about the strong late winter sun initiating natural avalanches to size 2 on Thursday.
Snowpack Summary
Isolated flurries are depositing light amounts of new snow throughout the region and sporadic sunny breaks could weaken the surface snow. 50-70 cm of storm snow from last week is settling and gaining strength. On southerly aspects, the storm snow sits above a sun crust which is a potential sliding layer to monitor.
Cornices have formed on many alpine ridgelines. They will become touchier as they grow in size, as temperatures rise, and as they are subject to the strong late-winter sun on clear days.
Weather Forecast
TUESDAY: Increasing cloud throughout the day with isolated flurries and trace amounts of new snow, light west wind, alpine high temperatures around -10 C.
WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, light wind, alpine high temperatures around -8 C.
THURSDAY: Cloudy, light wind with moderate gusts, alpine high temperatures around -8 C.
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Continued snowfall and strong wind from around the clock has formed large cornices on many ridgelines. Cornices are inherently unstable, unpredictable, and demand respect, especially when the sun is out.