Avalanche forecast

Northwest Inland

Jan 17 – 18, 2015Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Tue
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Continued stormy conditions will create changing avalanche problems. Keep your wits about you and be prepared to adjust your plans as you travel.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–3
    Continuing snow and strong winds will build wind slabs. These are generally found lee to the SW, but keep an eye for local wind effects that may have left wind slabs on other aspects.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–6
    Deeply buried snowpack weaknesses are most likely to be triggered from shallow snowpack areas, or with a very heavy load like a cornice fall or airborne snowmobile landing.

Confidence

Poor - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Expect around 5 cm snow on Sunday with moderate to strong SW winds and the freezing level near 600 m. Light snow continues on Monday, with strong SW winds. A second organised system is forecast to affect the area on Tuesday, bringing moderate snow, strong SW winds and rising temperatures.

Avalanche Summary

In the Ningunsaw area, explosives triggered several deep persistent slabs to size 3 which failed on basal facets. Skiers also triggered size 1 slabs on wind-loaded features at treeline.

Snowpack Summary

Strong southerly winds are building wind slabs, generally depositing snow on N and NE aspects (other aspects may be getting cross-loaded or variable local wind effects too, so keep your eyes open). A surface hoar layer was reported to have been buried at the start of January in the northern part of the region. In the mid-pack, a crust weakness buried in mid-December seems to have fallen off most operators' radar for now. Near the base of the snowpack is a November crust-facet combination that could remain problematic, especially in shallower snowpack areas. We are skinny on field observations from your region, so submissions on our website are welcomed. Click Avalanche Information at the top of the page.

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