Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 5th, 2022 3:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs.
matt,
Avalanche Canada
The winds have officially overstayed their welcome. The snow has a heavy feel to it from all the blowing around. Needless to say windslabs are the name of the avalanche problem game right now.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate -
Weather Forecast
Winds will continue to be a roller coaster, and unfortunately a driving force in how our snowpack shapes up. Today saw very gusty winds from variable directions. Tomorrow will likely be the same. Valley bottom winds will gust up to 38km and ridge winds will be significantly higher. As for snow and temps, the high will be -3 and we won't get any significant snow.
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new today. But there was significant windloading at all elevations/aspects.
Snowpack Summary
The winds have done an impressive job of redistributing what little surface snow we have left. Windslabs are basically in any open terrain at any elevation. Needless to say they don't become a problem until treeline, but once the denser slabs are encountered they do pose an avalanche threat. They seem most problematic in immediate lee areas and crossloaded features. That's not to say open areas are smooth sailing. They also deserve some assessment and judgement. As for the deeper layers, so far so good. They are cooperating and don't appear to be a major issue yet.
Terrain and Travel
- Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
- Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Windslabs of all types and densities can be found out there. Winds today were random in every way. Speed and direction seemed to change at a moment's notice.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Feb 6th, 2022 3:00PM
