Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 5th, 2023 2:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
jpgagnon,
Avalanche Canada
The best snow is definitely below treeline. Higher up, the wind has hardened or even made the snow disappear.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanche was reported since last Thursday.
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Snowpack Summary
With the extreme westerly wind that blew for 2 days, much of the available snow was moved into the alpine and treeline forming new wind slabs. As a result, a great deal of spatial variability is present in windy areas, from wind slabs to wind-affected snow to ice or rock. With the cold temperatures, facets are developing over the January 18 crust and have demonstrated some weaknesses in our tests.In general, the height of the snowpack varies from 70 to 90 cm in the valley to 100 to 150 cm at mid-mountain.
Weather Summary
Forecast for the Chic-Chocs ridges and summits.
A weak low-pressure system arriving from the north will pass over the region on Sunday evening and Monday morning and is followed by a high-pressure system bringing good weather until Tuesday.
Sunday evening and night: Light snow showers (1 to 3 cm). Wind northwest 10 to 20 km/h. Low -18.
Monday: Intermittent snow (1 cm). Wind northwest 20 to 30 km/h. High -14.
Tuesday: Sunny. Wind southeast 30 to 50 km/h. High -11.
Wednesday: Snow showers (3 to 4 cm). Wind northwest 40 to 80 km/h. High -8.
For more details, check the Alpine Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
- Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Significant new wind slabs can be found on leeward slopes and in cross loaded locations of the alpine and treeline. They rest on a fragile layer that seems to offer a good potential for propagation.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
With the cold temperatures, facetted grains developed on and under the January 18 ice crust. We have been getting regular test results showing avalanche triggering potential for the past few days. As with any persistent slab problem, the problem is very sporadic, almost isolated and the spatial variability is significant. It is therefore possible to test a few meters away and get a completely different results on this crust. The probabilities of triggering are low, but the consequences could be very unfortunate. The problem seems to be a little more important at the treeline, where the snowpack is thinner, near natural obstacles, such as trees or rocks.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.
Elevations: Treeline, Below Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Feb 6th, 2023 3:00PM
