Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Mar 15th, 2022 4:09PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs, Loose Dry and Persistent Slabs.
Lisa Paulson,
Great skiing can be found! Be cautious navigating the recently developed wind slabs and loose dry/cornice activity in couloirs or on climbs.
Summary
Weather Forecast
SW flow continues bringing light flurries for the next few days, approximately 4 cm/day adding to the 20 cm of recent snow. Moderate West winds continue for Wednesday/Thursday. Freezing levels will drop to around ~ 1300m for Wednesday and Thursday.
Snowpack Summary
15-30cm of new snow sits on a buried sun crust on steep solar aspects, and either previous wind effect or soft snow on other aspects. Several buried sun crust layers exist on steep solar aspects,. but the most concerning crust has been the Feb 16 down 40-50 cm and Jan 30 down 50-80 cm. The lower snow pack is generally well settled.
Avalanche Summary
Generally obscured visibility today with flurries. Several cornice triggered slabs occurred in the alpine on Mt. Rundle today up to size 2 on a NE aspects and a few loose dry avalanches. Local ski hills were reporting some windslabs in alpine and treeline terrain, mainly in the size 1-1.5 range.
Confidence
Problems
Wind Slabs
20-30 cm of new snow and moderate to strong alpine winds has created windslabs in lee alpine and treeline terrain. Continued moderate wind & light flurries may contribute to slab development Wednesday.
- Watch for surface cracking and stiffer surface layers of snow. Avoid wind loaded terrain.
- Convex features and steep unsupported slopes will be most prone to triggering.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Loose Dry
20-30 cm of new snow in the last few days has been sluffing easily in steep terrain. We expect this problem to improve, but it could still be problematic in gullies (ice climbing/steep skiing terrain) with moderate winds forecasted for Wednesday.
- Be careful of loose dry sluffing in steep, confined or exposed terrain.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
Buried crust/facet layers exist in the upper snowpack on steep solar aspects and may be more reactive with the new snow load. These persistent layers can be tricky to assess so use caution on slopes where they are present.
- Be aware of the potential for wide propagations.
Aspects: South East, South, South West, West.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Mar 16th, 2022 4:00PM
