Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 6th, 2022 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Storm Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
Lynnea Baker,
The storms coming!!! 25 cm of new snow, extreme winds and rising temps will combine with 20 cm snow from previous cycle to create reactive storm slabs on friday. Investigate storm slabs thoroughly before committing.
Summary
Weather Forecast
Friday: Overcast and snowing, 25 cm accumulation. Strong to extreme from SW. Alpine high -5. Freezing level 1200 m.
Saturday: Overcast with flurries, 5-10 cm. Moderate to strong W winds. Alpine high -12. Freezing level valley bottom.
Sunday: Mix of sun and cloud. Possible flurries. Strong W winds. Alpine high -6. Freezing level 1200m.
Snowpack Summary
20 cm unconsolidated snow is being redistributed by extreme westerly winds. Below this is a 10 - 30 cm hard wind slab. Mid pack is well settled. Facets are found above Dec 4 crust down 80-120 cm. A 20-60 cm thick Nov crust complex completes the snowpack to ground. No results have been seen on the Dec 4 layer in our pits this week.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanche observed on field day today. Thanks to everyone posting on the Mountain Information Network, keep up the great work, we really do read them.
Confidence
Problems
Storm Slabs
20 cm of unconsolidated snow from previous storm cycle will combine with up to 25 cm new snow, extreme westerly winds and warm temps to create surface slabs.
- Breakable crust makes for tough ski conditions.
- Use caution in lee areas. Recent wind loading have created wind slabs.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South, North West.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
No avalanches observed on this layer in our tenure however neighboring tenures are still seeing activity. With a large enough trigger or rising freezing levels this layer could produce results.
- Avoid shallow snowpack areas where triggering is more likely.
- If triggered the wind slabs may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 9th, 2022 4:00PM
