Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Jan 8th, 2020 4:00PM

The alpine rating is considerable, the treeline rating is considerable, and the below treeline rating is moderate.

Avalanche Canada mkoppang, Avalanche Canada

Recent snow is freshing up the forecast region but conditions are still challenging. Last weeks windslabs are now buried under 20-30cm of snow and thin weak spots where you can awaken the deep basal layers are tougher to spot. Conservative terrain choices are a good idea. 

Summary

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

The cold front has arrived! Cooler air has pushed into the region and highs tomorrow are expected to be in the -15C range. Winds are forecast to be light out of west and trace new snow at all elevations. 

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed today but observations were limited due to snowfall throughout the day. 

Snowpack Summary

Over the past 48hrs around 30cms of snow has fallen. This snow has seen some wind in the alpine and new windslabs up to 30cm thick are developing along N and E aspects. The Dec 31st SH layer is being found in isolated areas up to 2000m. Its now down 50cm and one skier avalanche has already been reported on this layer. Big avalanche are still possible on the weak basal facets especially from thin or weak shallow snowpack areas. Treat areas that have not yet released this season as suspect.  

Terrain and Travel

  • Use caution on large alpine slopes, especially around thin areas that may propagate to deeper instabilities.
  • Don't let the desire for deep powder pull you into high consequence terrain.
  • Choose low-angled, sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.
  • Be aware of the potential for large, destructive avalanches due to the presence of deeply buried weak layers.

Valid until: Jan 9th, 2020 4:00PM