Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Dec 27th, 2020 4:28PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
Adam Greenberg,
Good skiing can be found in sheltered areas, but uncertainty still surrounds deeper weak layers and they warrant a cautious approach. This is especially true as you leave the deeper snowpack immediately around Cameron Lake.
Summary
Weather Forecast
Monday: Cloudy with flurries, alpine high -7, light westerly winds
Tuesday: Mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. Similar wind and temperatures.
Wednesday: Similar weather to the previous days, with an inversion forming, and winds increasing.
Snowpack Summary
Snow depth is highly variable, with scoured windward slopes in the alpine, and windslab from SW winds. The Cameron Lake area has seen much less wind affect treeline and below. Dec 22 crust is down 5-20cm below 1900m, Dec 9 crust is not very prominent, down 20-80cm. The midpack is well consolidated with an ice crust forming the base of the snowpack.
Avalanche Summary
No avalanches observed on Sunday. On Saturday a larger avalanche was observed along the Akamina Parkway where either a windslab or cornice failure had stepped down to a midpack weak layer, likely the December 9 crust.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations
Problems
Wind Slabs
Strong winds have stripped windward slopes and created windslabs in lee areas. This appears to be less of a problem at treeline and below in the area immediately around Cameron Lake.
- Watch for shooting cracks or stiffer feeling snow. Avoid areas that appear wind loaded.
- Best conditions found on sheltered aspects.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
Uncertainty still exists around the December 9 persistent weak layer in our region. It can be found down 30-80cm, and may respond to large triggers such as smaller avalanches or cornice failures in deeper areas, or humans in shallow areas.
- If triggered the wind slabs may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
- Avoid travel on slopes that are exposed to cornices overhead.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Dec 30th, 2020 4:00PM
