Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 26th, 2021 4:02PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Deep Persistent Slabs.
Jesse Milner,
Neighboring regions have issued a special avalanche warning. Our snowpack went through a significant change since the deep freeze in early February. Recent winds, and temperature fluctuations have created a highly complex untrustworthy snowpack.
Summary
Weather Forecast
Saturday: A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. High -14 °C. Wind west: 15 km/h gusting to 40 km/h.
Sunday: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Low -16 °C, High -9 °C. Wind southwest: 20 km/h
Snowpack Summary
Widespread extensive wind effect in the alpine and is highly variable. The lee has windslabs (generally hard) that are well down into the terrain. The windward has been heavily stripped. Treeline and below has wind effect in any exposed terrain. The snowpack below the alpine is faceted with depth hoar near the base and is failing in test results.
Avalanche Summary
There has been a wind slab avalanche cycle in the last 72 hours from the extreme winds. Most avalanches were size 2 and in the alpine below ridge tops with one size 3 noted that ran down below treeline.
Confidence
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind slabs in the alpine and exposed treeline features have the potential for wide propagations across connected features.
- If triggered the wind slabs may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
- Be aware of the potential for wide propagations due to the presence of hard windslabs.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Deep Persistent Slabs
Caution in thin facetted snowpack areas where triggering is more likely. This is a low probability but high consequence problem.
- Avoid shallow snowpack areas where triggering is more likely.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Feb 27th, 2021 4:00PM
