Vancouver Island Avalanche Bulletin

Vancouver Island Avalanche Bulletin

Date issued: Monday 08 February, 2010, 10:00 PST

Valid Until: Wednesday 20 January, 2010.

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

OUTLOOK	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
Alpine	MODERATE	LOW	LOW
Treeline	LOW	LOW	LOW
Below Treeline	LOW	LOW	LOW

NOTE: RAISE ALPINE AND TREE LINE RATINGS BY ONE LEVEL FOR ALL AREAS WHICH RECEIVED HIGHER SNOW FALL AMOUNTS (>30cm) DURING THE STORM THURSDAY TO SATURDAY.

Confidence:

Good. Models are in agreement about the next few days weather.

Weather:

The island mountains saw between 5mm and 50mm of water from Thursday night to Saturday afternoon with the greater amounts falling on the west coast. Winds during the precipitation (especially in the earlier stages of it) were moderate to strong at the higher elevations and mostly from the S and SE. Freezing levels hovered around 1200 to 1300m with a spike later on Saturday to around 1500m. Freezing levels were a little higher on the west coast.

The outlook is for cooler temperatures, little precipitation and generally lighter winds. Expect 0-15cm of snow mostly on Monday and mostly on the west and north island with winds generally light from the SW through S to SE. Freezing levels between 700 and 1000m with a spike to around 1300m on Tuesday.

Avalanche Activity:

One skier cut size 1 and a natural size 1.5 were observed at Mount Cain. Both were on west aspects in wind exposed areas at and above tree line. We have limited observations from other parts of the island but with the amount of snow which fell and the wind which accompanied it we expect that natural avalanches did occur. On the west coast at Mount Myra an avalanche of at least size 2 was observed on the north face and numerous wet snow avalanches were observed at the lower elevations (<1300m).

Snowpack:

From about 10cm to more than half a meter of snow fell in areas above around 1200-1300m since Thursday night. With moderate to strong winds to move this snow around (especially earlier in the storm), wind slab was created and though we have limited observations natural activity did occurr in the areas of higher snow fall both on the west coast and interior of the island as well as on the east coast in places. A spike in freezing levels later on Saturday made for a wet snow avalanche cycle at lower elevations especially on the west coast and left a crust with about 3cm of snow above it from around 1300m down. We do not have observations of the snow pack from areas of higher snow fall but expect shears remain in the new snow and triggerable wind slab remains in the lees at ridgetop and cross loaded features.

Travel Advisory:

There is quite a lot of variation in the situation depending on where on the island you are right now with snowfall amounts having varied so much. The north island has nice skiing with 20cm of storm snow sitting on a supportable crust with generally good snow stability with the main caution being to look out for isolated wind slab. The remainder of the island alps saw more (30-50+ cm) snow and so we would expect to see more persistent shears within that new snow and more wide spread and more triggerable wind slab. Increased caution is advised in those places.  Also keep an eye on the temperatures and if we get some clear and sunny weather be aware that solar radiation is starting to gain some strength at this time of year and steep rocky solar slopes may shed loose snow.

Outlook:

Cooler temperatures, little precipitation and generally lighter winds. Expect 5-15cm of snow mostly on Monday with winds generally light from the SW through S to SE. Freezing levels between 700 and 1000m with a spike to around 1300m on Tuesday.

 

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.

February 8th, 2010 | Category: Current Condition |  Print This Post | Subscribe to comments | Both comments and pings are currently closed