Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Jan 27th, 2024 4:00PM

The alpine rating is high, the treeline rating is high, and the below treeline rating is considerable. Known problems include Storm Slabs and Loose Wet.

Avalanche Canada ahanna, Avalanche Canada

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Expect 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

An icon showing 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

Very Likely

Expected Size

1 - 2.5

Loose Wet

An icon showing 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

Likely

Expected Size

1 - 2

Valid until: Jan 28th, 2024 4:00PM

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