Avalanche forecast

South Rockies

Jan 31, 2017Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 10 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Concern remains for thin snowpack areas

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Ongoing strong winds can be expected to continue creating thin fresh wind slabs in lee terrain

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–3
    Triggering deeper weak layers remains possible where hard slabs sit above weak sugary snow.

Confidence

Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain

Weather Forecast

TUESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, wind light northeast, alpine temperature -15WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries, wind light northeast, alpine temperatures -19.THURSDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, wind light east, alpine temperature -15 More details can be found on the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported. The main concern continues to be the possibility of triggering the weak faceted layers deeper in the snowpack. Ongoing moderate to strong wind at upper elevations has created thin fresh wind slabs reactive to human triggering .

Snowpack Summary

Up to 10 cm of recent low density snow has been redistributed over previous hard, wind-affected surfaces forming additional thin layers of wind slab in lee terrain at higher elevations. Below 1500 metres you may find an isolated thin breakable rain crust about 1 cm thick.  The snowpack is quite variable throughout the region.  In deeper snowpack areas, the snowpack appears to be well settled with isolated concerns about the mid-December facet layer buried 50-100 cm deep. In shallow snowpack areas and lower elevations, the snowpack is weak and faceted. For instance, in the Elk Valley north area near Crown Mountain last week the height of snow was 90 cm with foot penetration of 80 cm; or almost to ground. In these areas, the wind has formed isolated hard slabs above weak facets and created the potential for large persistent slab avalanches.

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