Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 5th, 2012 9:17AM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Persistent Slabs and Wind Slabs.
ccampbell,
Avalanche Canada
Summary
Confidence
Good - -1
Weather Forecast
Friday and Saturday: Generally dry, with freezing levels near valley bottoms and light winds. Light snowfall expected overnight Saturday into Sunday accompanied by moderate to strong westerly winds.
Avalanche Summary
Recent activity on the mid-December surface hoar includes a snowcat remotely triggering a 70cm deep Size 2 slab avalanche from 10m away on a log-haul landing in a cutblock. Recent storm snow overlying a crust is also highly reactive to human triggers with slope-cuts producing numerous loose snow and 10-30cm thick slab avalanches up to Size 1.5.
Snowpack Summary
New snow and gusty winds are keeping wind slabs and cornices fresh and weak, and in some places buried old wind slabs are a concern. A lightly buried thin crust extends into treeline elevations. Compression tests have been producing easy to moderate sudden results on the mid-December surface hoar, down 30-80cm, and propagation tests, whumpfing, and remote triggering suggest that avalanches associated with this persistent slab have a high propensity to propagate over large areas. Other weaknesses within the slab create the potential for step-down avalanches. Basal facets and depth hoar remain a concern in shallow rocky areas.
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Wind Slabs
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South, South West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 6th, 2012 8:00AM
