Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Mar 19th, 2015 8:58AM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Storm Slabs.
pgoddard,
Avalanche Canada
Wind slabs may keep building, even if snowfall amounts are not great.
Summary
Confidence
Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain
Weather Forecast
Light snow is expected on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (around 5 cm a day). Winds are moderate to strong, mainly from the south. The freezing level should be near 1900 m on Friday, dropping to 300 m on Saturday.
Avalanche Summary
Explosives triggered a size 1.5 wind slab on Wednesday. A skier also recently triggered a size 1 wind slab in the alpine. Explosives control on Sunday triggered several very large avalanches near Stewart, failing at ground or on a deeply buried crust.
Snowpack Summary
Around 1 m of recent storm snow was redistributed by strong and variable winds, creating widespread wind slabs. Operators report settlement and bonding within the storm snow. Older buried surfaces include wind slabs, hard crusts, surface hoar, and/or surface facets. With more snow and wind forecast, new storm slabs are expected to form. The mid-pack is generally well-settled and strong. At the base of the snowpack, weak facets may be found, particularly on shallow alpine slopes in the north of the region. Cornices are large and potentially fragile. Below treeline, the snow appears to be in a spring melt-freeze cycle.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Snow and winds are expected to combine to form slabs that could be triggered by the weight of a person or sled.
Be cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.>Give cornices a wide berth when travelling on or below ridges.>Travel on ridgetops to avoid wind slabs on slopes below.>
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Mar 20th, 2015 2:00PM
