Avalanche forecast

Cariboos

Apr 11 – 12, 2013Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 13 years ago

Avalanche danger

Sat
Sun
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Avalanche problems

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–6
    Recent wind and snowfall has added to size and fragility to existing cornices. Cornice falls may be destructive by themselves, and may also trigger large avalanches on the slope below.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–6
    Moderate to heavy snowfall on Wednesday has added to an existing storm/ wind slab problem. Storm slabs may be particularly touchy in wind-affected terrain, or in spots where they overlie weak surface hoar crystals.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–4
    Rain at lower elevations has promoted ongoing wet snow instabilities. Watch for loose wet avalanches on steep slopes, or glide cracks in terrain with smooth ground cover.

Confidence

Fair - Due to limited field observations

Weather Forecast

Friday: Light snowfall during the day intensifying to moderate in the late afternoon / Moderate to strong southwest winds / Freezing level at 1100mSaturday: Light snowfall / Moderate northwest winds / Freezing level at 1000mSunday: Trace amounts of snow with possible sunny breaks / Light northeast winds / Freezing level at 900m

Avalanche Summary

Observations were extremely limited on Wednesday; however, numerous wet sluffs to size 1.5 were ski cut below 1900m on various aspects. A few naturals of the same size were also observed. I would expect storm slab activity at upper elevations in the wake of Wednesday's storm.

Snowpack Summary

At upper elevations moderate to locally heavy amounts of new snow have been shifted into deeper windslabs by steady southwest winds. About 40-75cm below the surface you are likely to find a temperature/sun crust from last week's clear weather. At the same interface you may find a touchy layer of facets or surface hoar on shaded alpine slopes above ~2400m. Where they exist these weak crystals have been responsible for large remote triggers. The variable and reactive nature of this layer suggests that it may continue to catch people by surprise. At lower elevations (below 1600m) rain has continued to saturate the snowpack. Recent snowfall combined with wind have made large cornices bigger and more likely to fail.

Regions covered