Vancouver Island Avalanche Bulletin

Vancouver Island Avalanche Bulletin

Date Issued: Thursday, March 5, 2009

Valid Until: Sunday March 8, 2009

Bulletin Area: This bulletin covers the mountainous region of Vancouver Island from the Mt. Cain Ski Area in the North to the Beaufort range to the South including the mountains of Strathcona Provincial Park.

DANGER RATINGS

Confidence:

Good. Models are in agreement.
Primary concerns:

Persistent, deep wind slab in the lees to the last storm (NE through N to NW), as well as newly formed slabs on E through SE to S facing slopes due to high W, N and NW winds which started later Wednesday. Buried surface hoar may also be a problem at any elevation.

Weather:

Since the last system eased off later Monday the Island mountains have seen little additional precipitation. 3-10 cm depending on location. What we have seen is strong (in excess of 50km/hr at times) winds mostly from the NW. Freezing levels have remained below 1000m. A mixture of sun and cloud are in the forecast with light precipitation accumulating a total of 5-10cm. Winds will continue to come predominantly from the NW at up to 40km/hr at the higher elevations at times. Freezing levels will be a little below 1000m on Friday, drop to sea level late Saturday and come up slightly to around 400m Sunday.

Travel advisory:

Deep wind slabs lee to winds from our last storm (SE through S to SW) still exist and will still be triggerable in places by skiers, snowboarders and sledders. Additionally strong NW winds beginning Wednesday afternoon have started a process of reverse wind loading of all that new snow that is lying there available for transport to the E through SE to S slopes forming new wind slabs on those aspects. Buried surface hoar may exist in specific locations at all elevations. This layer is buried beneath 40 to 100 cm of snow. Pay close attention to obvious clues such as cracking and shooting cracks, whumpfing and of course natural or skier triggered avalanches. If you are seeing these clues stick to simple low angled terrain and avoid places with overhead hazard or terrain traps such as trees and cliffs below. 

Snowpack:

Wind slabs now exist on all aspects thanks first to our storm winds followed by strong winds from the W, NW and N more recently. A size two avalanche outside the ski area boundary at Mount Washington on Monday seriously injured a young snow boarder and alerted us to the existence of a reactive layer of surface hoar from 22 February which likely exists in specific places at all elevations.

Avalanche Activity:

No new avalanche activity has been reported.

Outlook:

A mixture of sun and cloud are in the forecast with light precipitation accumulating a total of 5-10cm. Winds will continue to come predominantly from the NW at up to 40km/hr at the higher elevations at times. Freezing levels will be a little below 1000m on Friday, drop to sea level late Saturday and come up slightly to around 400m Sunday.

Are you traveling in the island back country?

Send our forecasters your observations. We are particularly interested in hearing if you have observed avalanche activity or If you or a member of your party has been involved in an avalanche. Email your observations to the Island Avalanche Bulletin forecasters at info@islandalpineguides.com

Important Notice: This is a regional forecast and significant variation may exist within the forecast area. The information and danger ratings are intended as a trip planning aid for recreational, backcountry users of avalanche terrain; they are not meant to be used as the sole factor in determining the avalanche danger presented by a specific slope. Always include local weather, snowpack and avalanche observations in your decision to travel in avalanche terrain. Observations and experience may lead to different conclusions from what is reported or recommended. See disclaimer for further details. The technical data used to produce these bulletins is obtained from a variety of sources, including local ski areas and remote weather resources.