Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Dec 28th, 2012 9:03AM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs.
jlammers,
Avalanche Canada
Summary
Confidence
Good
Weather Forecast
Friday night and Saturday: Light snowfall on Friday night with a clearing trend throughout Saturday / Moderate southwest winds associated with Friday's system becoming light and northwesterly on Saturday / Freezing level at 900mSunday: Clear skies / Light and variable winds / Freezing level at 900m with the possibility of an inversionMonday: Mostly clear skies / Light southwest winds / Freezing level at 1100m with the possibility of an inversion
Avalanche Summary
On Wednesday several size 1 very soft slab avalanches were triggered by ski cutting. A size 1.5 natural cornice release was observed in the region on Thursday. No slab released on the slope below.
Snowpack Summary
Relatively new and buried wind slabs may be found in alpine and open treeline terrain. Fragile cornices exist. A couple of storm snow weaknesses have been observed, but these are likely to be short-lived. In sheltered areas below treeline, loose snow is slowly becoming more consolidated. In general, the mid-pack is strong.Near the base of the snowpack, a crust/facet layer is now unlikely to be triggered. However, professionals are still mindful of thin snowpack trigger areas or large loads which could wake it up again, leading to a very large avalanche.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Stubborn wind slabs exist in many alpine and open treeline areas. These may be difficult to spot because they have been buried by light snowfall. Cornices may also be weak.
Be cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.>Pay attention to overhead hazards like cornices.>
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Dec 29th, 2012 2:00PM
