Avalanche Canada NL

We want to give a huge thanks to all our supporters from all of us at AvCanNL!!
Tackling our rugged terrain isn't easy, but you folks provide the quality gear to get it done!
Cheers to another great season!



equipment

With the spring-like conditions we need to pay attention to the temperatures as they will be the main driver of avalanche hazard. Look for good overnight refreeze which will create a supportive crust. By the time the surface is getting slushy and unsupportive it is time to avoid avalanche terrain. The transition between the two scenarios is when good corn snow conditions will be found.

Spring Challenges For many mountain sports enthusiasts, spring is their favorite season. The mountains lure us in with a greater potential for good visibility and comfortable temperatures. If you are a skier, mountaineer, or sledder, you know some of the best alpine conditions are found late March into early May. For...

New snow on White Wash Road heading into the North Arm Hills. Last Friday the first 10 km were mostly dirt with a layer of ice, today we had between 10-20 cm heavy, damp snow right from the highway. Not much new accumulation in the open areas just before the hills or on the east slopes, but still plenty of snow to ride. Access is considerably better than last week!!
Pockets of new snow may become reactive to daytime heating so keep an eye out for loose wet avalanche potential. More information on this type of problem can be found in the link in bio.

It's easy to underestimate what considerable really means! Check out what we mean when the map is orange.
Read more about the danger scale here
https://avalanche.ca/glossary -danger-scale

Finally made it to the Blow Me Downs today. Check the link below for our MIN report!!

https://avalanche.ca/map?panel=mountain-information-network-submissions%2F4b9f7813-c853-11ee-abff-0a58a9feac02

Took advantage of the good visibility and checked out the coverage in the South West Gulch area. Still below seasonal averages with a variable, wind affected snow surface out there! Good turns certainly possible in sheltered alpine and treeline features, but you may have to hunt for 'em!

WE'RE LIVE!!!!

INCOMING!!!!
The AVALANCHE FORECASTS for NL are starting today (Feb. 2)! These will be published every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Download the Avalanche Canada app, or go to Avalanche.ca to check out the forecast, view or submit MIN reports, or utilize any other of the great resources found there. Its your one stop shop for all things avalanche related!

Bay of Islands Volunteer Search and Rescue - BOISAR
Newfoundland & Labrador Snowmobile Federation
WSR Racing on the Rock

Look out below!!
Although we found good stability today, we did see evidence of a large natural avalanche cycle, likely from this weekend. Debris ran well into the flats (100-200m) below this east facing slope in the North Arm Hills. Let's all be aware of where we group up!

Deep in the Landslide!
Check out the MIN below for more Info
https://avalanche.ca/map?panel=mountain-information-network-submissions%2F35750004-bbb8-11ee-abff-0a58a9feac02

WSR Racing on the Rock
Newfoundland & Labrador Snowmobile Federation
Bay of Islands Volunteer Search and Rescue - BOISAR

There are a lot of variables to choosing the right terrain to ride! Join us for an interactive session, full of insider tips on how to use the forecast to help you select terrain that is both safe and makes for an awesome day on your sled.

Pre-register for your free spot now
https://bit.ly/AvCanwebinarJan31
Supported by Teck

As this big storm passes and we come into the weekend we expect to see storm slab throughout our region. Let's all keep our stoke in check and stick to conservative terrain choices as the storm slabs settle out. Should be plenty of soft snow in sheltered low-angle areas!

For more information on STORM SLABS, and what this avalanche problem looks like in the backcountry, click the link below

https://vimeo.com/avalanchecanada

WSR Racing on the Rock
Newfoundland & Labrador Snowmobile Federation
Bay of Islands Volunteer Search and Rescue - BOISAR

"WIND SLAB" Who's heard this word tossed around? An Avalanche Problem we often see here in Western Newfoundland. Check out this quick video of what it looks like in the backcountry, and how to manage it safely.

https://vimeo.com/465963052
WSR Racing on the Rock

Variability is the name of the game! Loaded gully features contained up to 160cm, but scoured rock could be found within 10-20m. Lots of wind affected surface snow made for challenging riding.

With different winds come different distribution of snow. Last nights wind from the SE have stripped areas that where previously covered.
Cross-loading and reverse-loading came into play today. Interested in what these words mean? Check out our glossary links below.

https://avalanche.ca/glossary -loading
https://avalanche.ca/glossary -loading

Winters on thin ice!
Checked out Eastern Arm Pond, only about 1.5-2 inches of ice.

Found it at the K**b!!.... Not the turns, but the buried transceiver. Good time to brush up on rescue skills!

Better than expected! Snow filling in between the rocks, still sharks lurking just below.

For more info on our day, check out the MIN below.
https://avalanche.ca/mountain-information-network/submissions/13ab2f0a-ab49-11ee-9a54-0a58a9feac02

With little snow, and early season conditions defining our region, let's take a moment to get ourselves armed and ready for the season. New batteries in the transceiver, companion rescue practice, a good check through all the gear!!! What's missing, and what could be better? Check out the link below, for a little more insight into managing Early Season Conditions!

Early Season Conditions Early Season Conditions

Whether you're new to the backcountry, or a seasoned avalanche practitioner. Our Online Avalanche Tutorial, "Avy Savvy", is a great tool for brushing up on your skills and awareness. Start your season off on the right foot, and get the training below!

Avalanche Canada’s Online Avalanche Tutorial Avy Savvy

With forecasted heavy snow and winds for our Western region, we're thinking about quickly developing avalanche conditions. From very little snow, to a lot of snow- change like this can create unstable conditions in a variety of areas. Wind-loaded lee features, gullies, and landslides are all spots to be careful of. Time is our friend after such rapid events, and fingers crossed, it sticks around and kicks off our winter season!

Tune up your skills, and be ready for the season

Avalanche Canada For full functionality of this site, it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are theinstructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser.

A Great opportunity to advance your Avalanche Awareness!!!
Ski-Doo/Bombardier, and Rapid Power Sports, doing worthy stuff right here. Let's get out for it, and strengthen our local backcounrty community!!!

Kicking off another season in fine fashion!!! Stoked to welcome back Marshall Dempster, bringing some top notch avalanche awareness. Hope to see you all there!

We're looking for a field technician to join our team! We might be biased, but we think it's a pretty great job 😉

Find out more and apply at www.avalanche.ca/careers

A couple of size one naturals and 30cm of new snow kept us out of steep terrain today. Though, we did test lots of smaller slopes and did not see any other signs of instability.

We saw it all in the tablelands today. In a 100 meter span we could find exposed crust, 30-50 cm windslabs, and bottomless deposits in some lee features. We tested one location with no results, moved 50 meters and got a spooky propagating result on an extended column test. (ECTP21). We plan to tread lightly and constantly reassess as we move through these variable conditions.