Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 1st, 2018 4:58PM
The alpine rating is Persistent Slabs and Wind Slabs.
, the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems includeSummary
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
Tuesday: Cold air in the valleys, warmer air up high. An above freezing layer is expected from approximately 1900-2400 m. Some valley cloud is possible, clear at upper elevations. Light southwesterly winds.Wednesday: basically a repeat of Tuesday, possibly slightly warmer.Thursday: Cloud developing in the afternoon. Lower elevations becoming warmer, although the above freezing layer is expected to remain in place. Light southerly winds.
Avalanche Summary
Recent reports are of a few wind slab avalanches to size 1.5 and loose dry avalanches running in steep terrain. The character of avalanches is expected to change over the next few days, with slab avalanches becoming more likely as the upper snowpack starts to settle with warm temperatures. Please submit your observations to the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
Snowpack Summary
15-30cm of low density new snow has buried a recently formed layer of feathery surface hoar and/or sugary facets. A layer buried mid-December that consists of surface hoar, sun crust and/or sugary facets is now down approximately 30-50cm. This layer is most prevalent in sheltered locations at treeline and below. Until recently, the snow above both of these weak layers has been soft and unconsolidated. Forecast warmer temperatures are expected to make the upper snow more dense, which could increase the likelihood of triggering on these layers. A crust which was formed by rain in late November is another major feature in the snowpack and is down approximately 70-100cm at treeline elevations.
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Wind Slabs
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 2nd, 2018 2:00PM