Lawinenlagebericht

South Rockies

Dec 14 – 15, 2015Avalanche Canada
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Archiviert · abgelaufen 11 years ago

Lawinengefahr

Wed
Thu
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
1 · Gering

Kernpunkte

Windslabs in exposed areas could exist on both North and South aspect slopes.Low probability, but there is still a chance of tickling a buried weak layer at lower treeline elevations.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–2
    Wind slabs may exist on northerly aspects as well as southerly aspects as the wind has shifted round to the north.
  • Persistent Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Unlikely - Possible
    Größe
    2–5
    A weakness buried early-Dec and a rain crust from mid-Nov in the mid-pack are becoming difficult to trigger but are still a concern in isolated areas.  Heavy triggers like cornices or avalanches stepping down could result in very large avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

On Tuesday: dry, mostly light winds from the north and freezing levels at valley bottom.  On Wednesday: 3-8 cm new snow, light northeasterly winds, freezing levels at valley bottom. On Thursday: current models indicate a dry day, with light or moderate southerly winds and freezing levels remaining at valley bottom.

Avalanche Summary

On Monday, a couple of size 2 avalanches were reportedly triggered by skiers in steep north and northeast facing slopes. Over the weekend, explosives and ski cutting produced storm slabs size 1-2 which were typically 20-60cm thick.

Snowpack Summary

The series of storms last week produced 70-90cm of new snow in the region. A rain crust which formed during the middle of the storm is now down 40-60cm and has become the primary layer of concern during the weekend storm. The early December interface consists of crust, surface hoar, and/or facets and is typically down 70-90cm. Around 20-30cm below this interface is a rain crust from mid-Nov with a thick layer of facets below it. Both the early-Dec and mid-Nov layers have become dormant and are likely being capped at treeline and below by the more recent rain crust layer. However, these layers may still be reactive to heavy triggers such as cornices, explosives, or smaller avalanches stepping down.

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