Avalanche Forecast

High

On Wednesday in the backcountry near Whitewater resort, one rider had a close call with a wind slab avalanche in a steep, wind-loaded gully. See the MIN post here for more information.

Also, with this extended period of cold weather. Faceting in the upper snowpack is encouraging sluffing with human traffic in steep terrain.

If you venture into the backcountry, please consider submitting your observations to the MIN.

A sun crust up to 5 cm thick caps the snowpack on steep south-facing slopes, while new surface hoar is forming in many areas. Alpine and treeline ridgelines are generally wind-affected.

In sheltered terrain, the upper snowpack may contain one or more layers of surface hoar buried sometime in January, but none of these seem to have enough slab property above it to be an avalanche problem right now.

A layer of surface hoar, facets, and/or crust buried in early December is 50 to 120 cm deep. An absence of recent activity suggests it is no longer a significant concern, however, it is still producing occasional, concerning snowpack test results.

The lower snowpack is generally strong and bonded.

Friday Night

Clear. 15 to 20 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C

Saturday

Sunny. 5 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Sunday

Sunny. 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Possible temperature inversion above 1500 m. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Monday

Sunny. 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Possible above freezing layer above 2000 m. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• The snowpack is generally stable; it may be appropriate to step out into more complex terrain.
• Make observations and continually assess conditions as you travel.
• Small avalanches can have serious consequences in extreme terrain. Carefully evaluate your line for slabs before you commit to it.