Avalanche Forecast

Poor - Due to limited field observations

Tuesday looks very similar to Monday.  Alpine temps should clock in at -7 with light SW winds.  The surface ridge that the region has been under breaks down beginning Wednesday.  Look for slightly warmer alpine temps on Wednesday along with a chance of precipitation in the afternoon.  I'm currently expecting 5 - 10 cm of snow late in the day Wednesday.  Thursday may deliver a bit more snow, check back for more details tomorrow. 

There has also been a couple second hand reports of large whumphing in the Harvey pass area and triggering large size avalanche that could have run on the lower November crust.? If you and your friends have been out exploring and riding in the backcountry, and have some observations to share please send us an email to forecaster@avalanche.ca. Lizard range info: Several Natural size 2.0 avalanches were reported on N-E aspects @ 1900m-2100m. Explosives control also produced size 1.5-2.0 avalanches on N aspects near the same elevation bands. These avalanches initiated in the current storm snow, and did not step down to deeper instabilities.

Snowpack observations and information are extremely limited, and conditions across the region vary. In the alpine I suspect 100 + cm of snow, and treeline seeing an average around 90 cm. Storms slabs and wind slabs likely exist in alpine and treeline elevations. An early season (Nov 8) rain crust has been reported to exist around 2000 m and above on NW-NE aspects. I have no further information in regards to this crust, how deep its buried or reactive it may be. I do know that it has been a reactive sliding layer in other regions to the North, which makes me suspect this could be a problem also in the South Rockies. In the alpine I suspect 100 + cm of snow, and treeline seeing an average around 90 cm. Below treeline snow levels may just be reaching threshold.