Vancouver Island Avalanche Bulletin

Confidence:  Moderate. The series of weather systems driving this forecast are fast moving and somewhat unpredictable in terms of timing and local precipitation amounts.

 Main Concerns: (Avalanche problems)

1. Wind Slab - Wind slab has been created on weak layers near the surface by NW winds Tuesday and SE through SW winds later in the week. New snow and moderate to strong winds mostly from the SW will form thick slabs over the week end.  

Snow Pack:

In the alpine winds have left exposed crusts and areas of hard and soft wind slabs. New snow and wind have buried weak faceted snow crystals at crusts. With additional load from more new snow and wind, wind slab triggerable by humans will be wide spread. At tree line and below the weak layer beneath new snow is surface hoar which can be found in areas sheltered from both the sun and the wind. The mid pack is strong. In the high alpine only, weak layers at the base of the snow pack may become of interest again as load grows. The forecast load seems likely to be insufficient to trigger these weaknesses in the island snow pack but caution in shallow areas in the highest alpine is warranted.

Avalanche Activity:

No new activity since last report. Natural avalanches are a possibility in the forecast period and humans should be able to easily trigger avalanches.

Travel Advice:

Under a considerable hazard rating dangerous avalanche conditions exist. Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route-finding and conservative decision-making are essential for safety. Be cautious when entering terrain affected by wind, and generally stay away from freshly wind loaded avalanche terrain. Watch for signs of instability such as cracks, shooting cracks, "Whumpfing" and natural avalanche activity. Always be aware of terrain traps below and remember that even small avalanches can be very destructive if they drag you into traps such as trees or cliffs. 

Prepared by Jan Neuspiel