Avalanche Forecast
South Coast Inland
Wind slabs exist on a wide range of aspects and may be hidden by the most recent snow.
Avalanche Problem 1: Wind Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
- Approach steep lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
Avalanche Problem 2: Cornices
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Large, looming cornices have formed along ridgelines. They need to be given an extra wide berth from above and below. A large cornice collapse in the north of the region may have the ability to trigger a deeply buried weak layer.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Falling cornices may trigger large avalanches on slopes below.
- Firm cornices can pull back into flat terrain at ridgetop if they fail.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were observed in the Coquihalla area on Wednesday, while several size 2 wind slabs (40 cm thick) were triggered with explosives on south-facing slopes in the Duffey area.
On Tuesday, a small (size 1) wind slab was triggered by a skier on a small west facing feature in the northern part of the region.
Reports from the weekend included numerous small wind slabs releasing with skier traffic on steep treeline and alpine features, as well as a few large (size 2-3) naturally triggered slabs in the northern part of the region (some of which were triggered by cornices).
Snowpack Summary
10-20 cm of new snow sits above a variety of old interfaces, including unconsolidated snow in sheltered areas, scoured and wind loaded snow in exposed areas, and a melt-freeze crust below roughly 1900 m. Storm snow amounts from the past week are roughly 60 cm in the south of the region and about half this amount in the north of the region.
About 80-150 cm down in the mid snowpack sits the mid-January crust. It generally shows signs of bonding to the overlying snow but will likely remain sensitive to large triggers - especially in thinner snowpack areas. Large, looming cornices exist, they are fragile, and they demand respect. Cornice falls are very effective triggers for avalanches on the slopes below them.
Weather Forecast
THURSDAY: Increasing cloud with light flurries in the evening, moderate to strong northwest wind, alpine high temperatures around -10 C in the north and -6 C in the south.
FRIDAY: Flurries easing throughout the day with 5-10 cm of new snow in the south and trace amounts in the north, moderate to strong northwest wind, alpine high temperatures around -8 C in the north and -4 C in the south.
SATURDAY: Moderate snowfall with 10-25 cm throughout the day, strong southwest wind, alpine high temperatures around -8 C in the north and -4 C in the south.
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
- South Coast Inland URL:
http://www.avalanche.ca/api/forecasts/south-coast-inland.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.
Reactive wind slabs exist, especially around ridge crests where more wind loading has occurred. Recent shifting wind patterns have formed slabs on a wide range of aspects.