Lawinenlagebericht

South Rockies

Feb 9 – 10, 2015Avalanche Canada
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Archiviert · abgelaufen 12 years ago

Lawinengefahr

Wed
Thu
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
3 · Erheblich
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Kernpunkte

Recent snowpack observations have been extremely limited, and the snowpack will need time to adjust to the recent heavy precipitation. Very large avalanches are still a concern. Remember this as you look for drier snow at higher elevations.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Storm Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible - Likely
    Größe
    1–4
    At higher elevations deep and dense storm slabs overlie potentially weak crystals. As you head into the alpine in search of drier snow, be wary of steeper slopes that haven't avalanched as very large avalanches are a concern.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Unlikely - Possible
    Größe
    3–5
    A deeply buried week layer which formed in December should still be treated with suspicion. Although not much is know about the current reactivity of this potentially destructive layer, I'd use extra caution in steep, unsupported alpine terrain.

Confidence

Poor - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Remnant moisture from the pineapple express will bring light precipitation to the region on Tuesday morning. By the end of the day, a warm dry ridge of high pressure will develop bringing progressively warmer temperatures and clearing throughout the forecast period. Tuesday: Light snowfall and overcast skies / Moderate northwest winds / Freezing levels at or near valley bottom Wednesday: Mix of sun and cloud / Moderate southwest winds / Freezing level climbing throughout the day to 2000m Thursday: Mix of sun and cloud / Moderate southwest winds / Freezing level climbing to 2700m

Avalanche Summary

Observations have been essentially non-existent in recent days. This likely speaks more to a lack of observers rather than actual conditions. I'm confident recent storm loading has produced large storm slab avalanches at higher elevations, while loose wet or wet slab avalanche activity occurred at lower elevations where rain fell.

Snowpack Summary

Since Febraury 5th, moderate to heavy precipitation fell throughout the region. The rain line during the storms generally hovered around 1700m, although there were periods where rain fell into the alpine. In the alpine, heavy accumulations of moist, dense snow have been pushed by strong southwest winds into much deeper deposits in upper elevation lee terrain. The recent storm snow overlies a hard crust layer (which may have overlying surface hoar) which was formed in late January. At lower elevations, continuous rain has saturated the snowpack. I'm sure cornices are large and fragile.In the mid to lower snowpack, you may find the mid-December crust/facet/surface hoar combo. At lower elevations rain has likely destroyed what was left of this layer. At higher elevations recent storm loading may have produced very large avalanches at this interface, although observations have been extremely limited.

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