Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 13th, 2015 3:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Persistent Slabs.
pgoddard,
Avalanche Canada
Obvious signs of avalanche conditions have decreased, but surprisingly large avalanches are still possible.
Summary
Confidence
Fair
Weather Forecast
A layer of warm air aloft will create warm alpine temperatures. Light amounts of precipitation are expected on Thursday night/ Friday. SW winds strengthen on Friday.
Avalanche Summary
On Saturday, skiers triggered numerous persistent slab avalanches to size 2 in the north of the region, in some cases remotely from a distance of 10m. On Sunday, a couple of persistent slab avalanches in the size 2.5 range were triggered between 2100 and 2300m from a distance of up to 100m. Avalanche activity has slowed, but there is still the potential for human-triggering of large avalanches, especially from areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
Snowpack Summary
Large surface hoar crystals are growing on the snow surface. Underneath this a thin frozen crust exists up to about 1900m. Our main concern continues to be a crust/surface hoar combo buried in mid-December. This touchy layer is 60-120cm down and has the potential to be triggered by people and produce surprisingly large avalanches. A facet/crust layer near the base of the snowpack has mostly been dormant, apart from recent activity in the Bonnington Range which suggests it may still be reactive in isolated terrain.
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Persistent slabs can still be triggered by a person in the right spot. These could be surprisingly large. Overall the chances of triggering have dropped, but consequences remain high.
Avoid open slopes and convex rolls at and below treeline where buried surface hoar may be preserved.>Avoid convexities or areas with a thin or variable snowpack.>
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 14th, 2015 2:00PM
