Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 21st, 2024 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs.
cgarritty,
Avalanche Canada
Normal cautions should be sufficient to manage lingering wind slabs in steep terrain near ridgetops.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported in the past few days. Operators in the Hope area noted small sluffing of new snow from steep terrain on Wednesday, confined to areas where smooth snow coverage exists.
Snowpack Summary
Light new snow amounts have begun to accumulate over a variety of surfaces including; surface hoar in sheltered terrain, A crust on south aspects and all aspects below treeline and old wind effected surfaces in exposed terrain.
A widespread crust exists 25-40 cm below the surface, and surface hoar has been found above the crust in some parts of the region. Old, likely stubborn wind slabs formed over this layer are a lingering concern.
The remainder of the snowpack is well settled. Conditions remain rugged at lower elevations.
Weather Summary
Wednesday night
Cloudy with flurries bringing up to 5 cm of new snow to higher elevations, light rain below about 1400 m. 5 to 15 km/h southeast alpine wind shifting southwest. Freezing level steady around 1400 m.
Thursday
Cloudy with isolated wet flurries at higher elevations, light rain below about 1500 m. 10 to 20 km/h southwest alpine wind. Treeline temperature around -1 °C with freezing level to 1500 m.
Friday
A mix of sun and cloud. 30 to 40 km/h southwest alpine wind, increasing. Treeline temperature around 0 °C with freezing level to 1600 m.
Saturday
Cloudy with flurries bringing 5-10 cm of new snow, including overnight amounts. 35-40 km/h southwest alpine wind. Treeline temperature -3 C with freezing level to 1300 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
- Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Older wind slabs across a range of aspects have mostly stabilized. In isolated steep terrain, some slabs formed over weak snow grains sitting on hard crust may still react to a human trigger.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Feb 22nd, 2024 4:00PM
