Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Mar 26th, 2016 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Persistent Slabs, Cornices and Loose Wet.
stephen holeczi,
Avalanche Canada
The Little Yoho region has an overall deeper and more settled snowpack than the main range just to the East. Watch for thin areas where a larger avalanche can be triggered. See the Special Public Avalanche Warning link above for more details.
Summary
Weather Forecast
Not much change Sunday with freezing levels to 1900m and light SW winds. A NE flow will move in Sunday night into Monday which will drop 10-20cm East of the divide but will likely only result in 5-10cm for the Little Yoho region.
Snowpack Summary
A crust lies on solar aspects into the alpine and on shady aspects up to ~2000m where it disappears. In the top meter of the snowpack, several buried suncrusts exist and may still be a concern on west, south and east aspects but in general the snowpack is well settled. Low elevation snowpacks (Field ice climbs) are isothermal and slushy in the PM.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches reported in the Little Yoho region over the past 24-hours. Climbing in Guinness Gully Thursday revealed a lot of old, wet debris in the gullies on Mt. Dennis and this should be expected during the afternoon periods over the next few days. Loose wet avalanches to size 1.5 on steep solar aspects on Mt. Field Saturday PM.
Confidence
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Several buried suncrusts exist in the upper pack on S, E and W aspects although we have not had a chance to look for them for over one week. Dig down to look for these yourself, as we were surprised by a buried suncrust just last week.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Cornices
Cornices are large, and warm temperatures make them weak. Ensure you give them a wide berth on ridge crests, as they can pull back a long way when they fail and may trigger an avalanche below. If you need to travel under cornices - move quickly.
- Cornices become weak with daytime heating, so travel early on exposed slopes.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Loose Wet
This problem is intended specifically for the Field ice climbs on Mts. Dennis and Stephen, and Mt. Field, where steep gully routes will stat to see isothermal now conditions Sunday afternoon.
- Make your travel plans to take advantage of overnight freezing.
- Use extra caution on solar slopes or if the snow is moist or wet.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Mar 27th, 2016 4:00PM
