Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Tutshi, Wheaton, White Pass East, White Pass West, Yukon.
New snow and wind will build slabs throughout the day.
Keep in mind a buried weak layer exists and there is the potential for large avalanches.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No avalanches have been reported since Jan 22nd.
It has been a while since a persistent slab avalanche has been reported, however, with new snow on the way it's possible that large avalanches will occur.
Snowpack Summary
New snow is expected to fall with strong southwest wind, building slabs on lee slopes through the day. Expect lesser amounts of new snow the further east you go.
New snow falls on a heavily wind-modified surface with some soft snow remaining in sheltered spots.
A weak layer of facets and a crust from early December is buried 80 to 140 cm deep. This layer exists on all aspects up to around 1700 m and produced large avalanches last weekend.
Weather Summary
Sunday Night
Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 50 to 80 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Monday
Mostly cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Wednesday
Mostly clear skies. 10 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.
- Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
- Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.
- If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Strong wind and new snow will build slabs in lee terrain features throughout the day.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible - Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2.5
Persistent Slabs
The early December weak layer continues to be triggerable in shallow, thin-to-thick areas or with large loads like a cornice or avalanche.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible - Likely
Expected Size: 2 - 3.5