Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 27th, 2024 4:00PM
The alpine rating is Storm Slabs and Loose Wet.
, the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems includeExpect the new snow to become increasingly reactive as temperatures climb above freezing. Stick to conservative terrain.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
An avalanche incident with human involvement was reported on Saturday from the Hasler area - additional details will be provided when they are known.
Observations are limited in the region. If you go out in the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
Snowpack Summary
30-50 cm of new snow is becoming heavy and wet as freezing levels creep up the mountain. At the highest alpine elevations, dry snow may be redistributed by strong southwest wind.
A layer of facets is now buried 50-80 cm deep. This layer has been observed to be bonding recently but the significant new snow load may have a destabilizing effect in the short term.
The mid snowpack is generally strong and well bonded including a prominent crust buried 50-90 cm deep below 1400 m.
Weather Summary
Saturday night
Mostly cloudy with 10-15 cm of new snow. Southwest alpine wind 50-60 km/h. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy. Southwest alpine wind 40-50 km/h. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2000 m, rising to 3000 m overnight.
Monday
Mostly cloudy with 5 mm of mixed precip. Southwest alpine wind 40-50 km/h. Treeline temperature +4 °C. Freezing level 3000 m dropping to 2300m.
Tuesday
15-20 mm of rain overnight then 10-15 mm mixed precip turning to snow over the day. Southwest alpine wind 50-70 km/h. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level dropping to 1500 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- The more the snowpack warms-up and weakens, the more conservative you`ll want to be with your terrain selection.
- Avoid exposure to overhead avalanche terrain as temperatures increase.
- As the storm slab problem gets trickier, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.
- The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm slabs may become increasingly reactive as temperatures rise. Slabs may fail deeper than expected where a weak layer of facets exists beneath the storm snow.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Loose Wet
Loose wet avalanches will become increasingly likely at lower elevations as rain soaks the upper snowpack.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Below Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 28th, 2024 4:00PM