Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Jan 29th, 2014 8:04AM

The alpine rating is low, the treeline rating is low, and the below treeline rating is low.

Avalanche Canada rbuhler, Avalanche Canada

'Low Hazard' does not mean 'No Hazard' and a weakness still lingers near the base of the snowpack. See the snowpack discussion for further details.

Summary

Confidence

Fair

Weather Forecast

An Arctic front will pass over the interior regions on Thursday morning and will result in light precipitation.  A ridge of high pressure will build in the wake of the Arctic front and dry conditions are expected for Friday and Saturday.Thursday: Cloudy in the morning and clearing during the day, light flurries 2-4cm in the morning, treeline temperatures around -10C, light variable winds at mountain topFriday: Mostly sunny, dry conditions, treeline temperatures around -12C, winds 25-40 NW at mountain topSaturday: Mostly sunny, dry conditions, treeline temperatures around -12C, winds 20-35 NW at mountain top

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported.

Snowpack Summary

The upper and mid-snowpack are generally well consolidated and layers are well bonded.  However, a facet/crust weakness near the bottom of the snowpack remains a concern.  The depth of this layer makes triggering an avalanche unlikely but the consequences would be large, destructive avalanches.  This is referred to as a 'low probability, high consequence' event.  We are recommending avoiding thin or rocky areas on steep, convex, unsupported slopes.  In most areas, a widespread weak layer is now buried by a few centimetres of new snow.  This weak layer consists of large surface hoar (widespread in most sheltered and shaded areas at all elevations), a sun crust on open south facing slopes, facet grains (in colder areas or areas with a thinner snowpack), or a combination of any of the above.  This layer may become a problem in the future when we finally get more snowfall.

Valid until: Jan 30th, 2014 2:00PM