Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Dec 28th, 2020 8:04AM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Loose Dry and Persistent Slabs.
Jonas Hoke,
Assess your line before committing.
We currently have a complex snowpack with persistent weak layers that could produce high consequence avalanches if you were unlucky enough to trigger them.
Summary
Weather Forecast
A ridge of high pressure will give stable weather through Tuesday. A system arriving from the West will give light snowfall Wednesday.
Today: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Alpine High -9 C. Ridge wind light W.
Tonight: Clear periods. Alpine Low -13 C. Light W wind.
Tuesday: Sunny periods. High -8 C. Light SW wind.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 25cm of recent snowfall has buried windslabs at upper elevations, and spotty surface hoar in sheltered areas below treeline. The upper snowpack is generally well bonded. Weak layers: Dec 13 surface hoar is down 70-110cm, Dec 7 crust/facte/surface hoar layer is down 110-130cm+. The Nov 5 crust lingers near the base of the snowpack.
Avalanche Summary
Small natural and skier triggered loose dry avalanches occurred over the weekend on steeper, open slopes on all aspects and elevations.
Confidence
Problems
Loose Dry
Slough management is necessary on steeper, open slopes. Initiated loose dry slides are gathering enough mass to push a skier or rider over, or even bury one in a terrain trap. Manage your group carefully to enjoy the new snow!
- Be careful of loose dry power sluffing in steep terrain.
- If triggered dry loose point releases can form deeper deposits in terrain traps.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
The Dec 7th and Dec 13t layers produced very large avalanches last week, up to size 4! One of these very large avalanches, from a South aspect at Treeline, had the Dec 7th interface as the failure plane which consisted of a crust with facets above.
- Carefully evaluate terrain features by digging and testing on adjacent, safe slopes.
- Be aware of the potential for wide propagations which could result in large avalanches.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Dec 29th, 2020 8:00AM
