Winter is hanging on! Several instabilities observed by the field team and reported by skiers on Friday.
Despite the sunshine and mild weather forecast for Saturday, we must let the snowpack stabilize before opting for more challenging objectives.
Our observation are limited since the last storm, but we suspect that the south wind has loaded the leeward slopes of the alpine and the laterally loaded slopes of the treeline. Although the wind is shifting to the northwest on Saturday, it may not be strong enough to reload the southern slopes. Still, take the time to look at the possible loading before heading out on a slope.
On Friday, several dry llosse snow avalanches were triggered on the north slopes of the Madeleine Mines. As the north slopes will take longer to warm up from the sun on Saturday, it is possible that this problem will still be present.
Several dry loose snow avalanche deposits observed by the field team in the freak and superfreak sector at the Madeleine mines.
A few small dry loose snow avalanches (size 0.5) triggered by the field team in the bouleaux sector at the Madeleine mines.
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Depending on the sector and altitude, 10 to 25 cm of new snow fell on the Chic-Chocs from Thursday night to Saturday morning. Winds from the south affected the alpine and open terrain, which now has a great deal of spatial variability. In areas protected from the wind, this new snow is resting on a 5 to 15 cm layer of slightly heavier snow. The refreezing crust of March 18, present at all altitudes, is thus buried at 15 to 40 cm depth. Below 500m and on the solar aspects, we find a thin crust of refreeze under these 10 to 15 cm of new snow.The whole rests on a well consolidated central core of increasing density. The base of the snowpack is composed of a loaf of laminated crusts. In general, the height of the snowpack varies from 100 to 120 cm in the valley to 140 to 190 cm at the treeline.
Forecast for the Chic-Chocs ridges and summits.
Synopsis: A ridge of high pressure forms Saturday, bringing clearing and light winds.Friday night and overnight: Cloudy. Wind north, 10 to 20 km/h. Low -8.Saturday: Clearing in the morning. Wind 5 to 15 km/h from the northwest. Max. -2C. Freezing at 600 m. Sunday: Snow. 2 to 5 cm of snow. Wind 20 to 40 km/h from the southeast. Max. -3C. Freezing level at 250 m. Monday: Snow. Wind northeast, 5 to 15 km/h. Maximum 0. Freezing level at 490 m.
For more details, see the Chic-Chocs alpine forecast.
