Avalanche Forecast

The field team went to Burstall Pass today and had poor visibility all day and saw one size 1.5 avalanche on a SE aspect. We are likely going through a natural avalanche cycle.

This latest storm has left us with 40-50cm of snow. This is the first large input on the snowpack since December; this is likely to wake up the deep persistent (November facet) layer somewhere. During the storm, the winds shifted from West to East, so expect to find wind slabs on all aspects at tree line/alpine, and some thinner slabs in open areas below tree line. These East winds are suppose to continue in the 30km/hr range until Thursday morning, so expect continued wind slab formation. At tree line and below, this new snow mostly sits on top of a faceted snowpack. In the alpine, the new snow and wind slabs sits on top of a strong mid-pack where it was previously deep and on top of facets where it was not so deep. In either case, the November facets(deep persistent problem) is a big concern to create large avalanches that could go to ground.

The storm has passed and the Arctic air has settled in. Wednesday will bring mostly cloudy skies with light flurries in the morning. Temperatures at tree line will be between -25c and -30c for the day. Winds will continue to be from the East at 30km/hr.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
• Be aware of the potential for surprisingly large avalanches due to deeply buried weak layers.
• Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.