Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 3rd, 2021 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Storm Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
shorton,
Avalanche Canada
Carefully evaluate your terrain choices, triggering storm slab avalanches remains a concern (especially at higher elevations).
Summary
Confidence
Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.
Weather Forecast
SUNDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with some isolated flurries and up to 5 cm of snow, moderate west wind, temperatures drop to -8 C.
MONDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries and up to 5 cm of new snow, moderate southwest wind, temperatures around -4 C.
TUESDAY: 5-15 cm of snow overnight then light flurries during the day, moderate west wind, temperatures around -6 C.
WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with some isolated flurries, moderate southwest wind, temperatures around -4 C.
Avalanche Summary
Several small skier triggered wind slab avalanche were reported over the weekend, but reports are limited. Based on the recent snowfall and wind, reactive storm slabs can likely still be found in steep in wind affected terrain. Triggering large persistent slab avalanches remains possible, even though few avalanches have been reported over the two weeks.
Snowpack Summary
The weekend's storm brought 10-30 cm of heavy snow that should stabilize relatively quickly, but could still be a problem in steep and wind affected terrain.
Weak layers of feather surface hoar and/or sugary faceted grains may be found above a hard melt-freeze crust around 50 to 100 cm deep. The most recent avalanche activity on these layers were reported on Dec 23 and 25.
The base of the snowpack consists of faceted grains and a hard melt-freeze crust from early-November. The most recent activity on this layer was on Dec 23, and it remains to be seen if the recent storm has increased the reactivity of this layer.
Terrain and Travel
- Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and wind exposure.
- Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind loaded snow.
- Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
- Avoid slopes that sound hollow or drum-like.
- Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of buried weak layers.
Problems
Storm Slabs
10-30 cm of recent snow and strong southwest has formed storm slabs that may remain reactive to human triggering, especially at upper elevations and on freshly wind loaded slopes.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
A hard melt-freeze crust is found around 50 to 100 cm deep. The concern is where weak layers of surface hoar and/or faceted grains exist above the crust. For areas where either of these weak layers exists above the crust, the possibility remains that riders could trigger large avalanches.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 4th, 2021 4:00PM
