Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 5th, 2024 3:30PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs and Deep Persistent Slabs.
JMackenzie,
Avalanche Canada
Early season conditions in February! Snowpack heights are extremely low at lower elevations. Some "acceptable" skiing can be found in the Alpine with dust on crust conditions. Travel conditions are generally poor.
Summary
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
Just a few loose dry naturally triggered avalanches were observed in steep terrain on N aspects today. These slides ranged from size 1 to 1.5.
Snowpack Summary
The recent storm snow is settling and now averages 5 to 15cm over the Feb 3 crust. This crust is supportive to skiers above 2100m and extends at least as high as 2500m. The bond at the storm snow - crust interface is mainly good, except on steep northerly aspects in the alpine. Very isolated wind slab development was observed today in the alpine in wind prone areas.
Weather Summary
Wednesday will be mostly cloudy with temps between -5 and -10. Winds will be light from the SW at ridgetop. Very light flurries will bring only trace amount of new snow.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
- Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.
- Be carefull with sluffing in steep terrain, especially above cliffs and terrain traps.
- In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Light winds and less than forecasted snow amounts will keep this problem more isolated to cross loaded and lee features in the alpine.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
This will still be an issue in areas that escaped the heat, as there is no previous crust to hold the snowpack together.
Aspects: North, North East, East, West, North West.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Deep Persistent Slabs
This layer is shielded by 2 crusts, but is still triggerable from thin to thick transitions. Very much a low probability, high consequence situation.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Feb 7th, 2024 4:00PM
