Avalanche Forecast

High -

Strong SW winds are forecast overnight on Wednesday before they begin to ease in the morning. Temperatures will be seasonal with day time highs are -8C. Light snowfall is expected over the next few days with 10-15cm of new snow expected by Saturday evening. The solar radiation is starting to be intense at this time of year so pay attention to aspect and time of day. 

A few recent sz 2 avalanches in alpine terrain were observed on NE aspects 40-50cm deep that were triggered likely by cornice collapses. A few small slabs also released in alpine areas but travelled surprisingly far due to the loose facetted snow surface. 

The recent snow has been affected by the strong winds on friday forming windslabs in open alpine terrain and isolated areas at treeline. These slabs are 10-20cm thick where observed today but forecasters were being conservative in treeline features. Moderate sheers were noted within the upper storm snow and no reactivity was observed on the Jan 29th interface down 70cm. The big concern now is windslabs in the alpine in open areas. If you feel drummy or hollow snow start seeking conservative terrain or supported low angles slopes.   

• Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
• Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
• Avoid lee and cross-loaded terrain.