Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 19th, 2017 4:11PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Persistent Slabs and Wind Slabs.
snow safety,
Avalanche Canada
Enjoy the great skiing but remember that the potential for large human triggered avalanches persists. Conservative route choices remain the theme of the day.
Summary
Weather Forecast
Light snow in the forecast for Sunday night and Monday morning with a few more flurries over the next few days. Winds should stay in the light range and temperatures are expected to slowly decrease over the forecast period.
Snowpack Summary
10-25cm of recent storm snow with little wind effect. Minimal surface slab formation at tree line and above, but persistent problems remain with the lower half of the snow pack being weak and faceted in thin snow pack areas. Cooler temperatures have helped to stabilize the snow pack below tree line but the snow pack is still generally weak.
Avalanche Summary
Not much new avalanche activity was observed on Sunday with the exception of the new snow sluffing out of steep cliff features, so ice climbers take note. Lots of natural and human triggered avalanche activity over the past 5 days up to size 3. While natural activity is expected to taper off, human triggering will remain likely for some time.
Confidence
Problems
Persistent Slabs
A thick slab of more recent snow sits over several weak facet interfaces in the mid and lower snow pack. Dig down to see how the recent snow is bonding to the layer below, and choose conservative terrain features.
- Use conservative route selection, choose moderate angled and supported terrain with low consequence.
- Be aware of thin areas that may propogate to deeper instabilites.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Wind Slabs
Recent snow and wind has created wind slabs in the alpine which are now buried by fresh snow. These are becoming less reactive but should still be on your radar. Probe often to find them, especially near ridge crests and in cross loaded areas.
- If triggered the storm/wind slabs may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Feb 20th, 2017 4:00PM
