Avalanche Forecast

On Thursday a skier accidental sz 2 avalanche occurred in Dog leg area that involved three skiers. The slide failed on a north aspect at 2400m in 38deg terrain. The slab was approx. 60cm thick, occurred in three separate lobes and carried the skiers in the trees. There was no wind at the time and the avalanche appeared to be a soft windslab failing on the October crust. Forecasters were unable to access the location on Friday. Thanks to those involved for sharing this with the community.

Light snow fell throughout the day on Friday but accumulations were minimal. By Saturday morning another 5cm is forecast and 10-15cm throughout the day. From looking at some of the alpine ridgelines in the region there was some isolated winds from a south eastern direction but in generally winds have still been light. Winds are a critical factor to keep an eye on at this time as there is lots of snow available for transport.

There are two main concerns in the snowpack at this time. Windslabs in the upper snowpack along ridgelines that are reactive to skiers and the persistent October crust deeper in the snowpack that has produced a few avalanches on N and E aspects over the past week. Likely, any avalanche initiated will step down to the persistent crust layer or ground. Conservative terrain is key as the snowpack adjusts to this new load. Whumpfing and settlement have been encountered by forecasters throughout the week.

See image Below. Temperatures on Saturday will be between around -8C for a daytime high.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
• Be cautious of buried obstacles, especially below treeline.
• Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
• Keep in mind a buried crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.
• Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.