Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 17th, 2024 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs.
lcrawley,
Avalanche Canada
Start on small slopes, and downgrade your objective if you find signs of instability like shooting cracks or whumpfs.
Touchy slabs have been surprising backcountry users.
Summary
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were reported at the time of publishing on Saturday.
On Wednesday and Thursday, several large (up to size 2.5) natural and rider-triggered wind slab avalanches were reported. These occurred on all aspects, but mostly on north through east in the alpine.
Recently, avalanches have surprised people with wider-than-expected propagation and remote triggering from afar. See the example photo.
Snowpack Summary
Depending on temperature and time of day, a sun crust or moist snow will likely exist on steep south facing aspects. The alpine is generally wind-affected. In sheltered terrain, 15 to 25 cm of snow overlies a variety of layers including a weak layer of small surface hoar and/or another thin sun crust on solar aspects.
The widespread crust buried in early February is down 30 to 50 cm and has recently been touchy to human and machine triggers. In most places, this crust is widespread up to 2400 m.
Weather Summary
Saturday Night
Mostly clear skies. 15 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Possible temperature inversion.
Sunday
Partly cloudy. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
Monday
Partly cloudy. 10 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.
Tuesday
Cloudy. 15 to 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
- A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.
- Keep in mind the crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.
Problems
Wind Slabs
In some places, wind slab avalanches are failing on or gouging down to the hard, frozen crust formed in early February.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, West, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Feb 18th, 2024 4:00PM
