Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 18th, 2016 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Loose Dry and Wind Slabs.
grant statham,
Avalanche Canada
We are in the textbook "straw that broke the camel's back" situation as the new snow, wind and facets are all adding up. Ice climbers - the gullies in Field are starting to fill up with loose snow - not much change is needed here to see some action.
Summary
Weather Forecast
Continued light snowfall for the next 24 hours, with another 2-4 cm expected and temperatures ranging from -5 to -15. Moderate (40+ km/hr) westerly winds at higher elevations.
Snowpack Summary
15-20cm of recent storm snow from the past week has been blown into windslabs in high alpine areas; expect isolated soft slabs up to 40cm deep in loaded areas. Meanwhile, the overall snowpack continues to gradually become weaker from the facetting process, and in some areas the upper snowpack is comprised entirely of facets with no cohesion.
Avalanche Summary
Observed a size 2 natural avalanche that ran 800 meters on Mt. Fairview above Lake Louise today. Additionally, a party of skiers in the Lake Louise backcountry triggered a loose dry avalanche that was large enough the bury their equipment and necessitate a backcountry evacuation since they lost their gear.
Confidence
Problems
Loose Dry
New snow and surface facets will sluff easily in steep terrain (40+ degrees). These sluffs may have high consequence for skiers or climbers in large or confined terrain. Manage your exposure closely in order to control your risk.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Wind Slabs
The new snow over the last week has been slowly adding up, compounded by moderate west winds to created localized windslabs. Pay close attention to the distribution of the snow in alpine areas, such as the Wapta Icefields.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 19th, 2016 4:00PM
