Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Mar 31st, 2023 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Deep Persistent Slabs.
SH,
Avalanche Canada
Some light snow and cloudy conditions this weekend should minimize any solar effect. We have gone to LOW danger for the weekend, but are still avoiding thin snowpack areas where an unlikely but large avalanche could be triggered on the basal weak layer.
Summary
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed or reported today with minimal solar input.
Snowpack Summary
Surface crusts exist to ridgetop on solar aspects. On shady aspects, 10-25cm of settled snow sits over a facetted interface from March 25th and buried temperature crusts below 1500 m. The midpack in this area is generally strong, although the base of the snowpack consists of weaker facets in thinner areas (<2 m). A field trip today in the area found crusts on all aspects except due North.
Weather Summary
Saturday. Some light snow (~5cm) through the day and 30-40kmh winds. Freezing levels 1600-1800m.
Sunday: Flurries with winds shifting to light from the E/NE later in the afternoon and slightly cooler temperatures.
For a more detailed weather forecast click here.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
- Avoid exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes, especially when the solar radiation is strong.
- Cornices become weak with daytime heating or solar exposure.
Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
In deeper snowpack areas of this region, the basal facets are less of a concern as evidenced by a lack of both human-triggered and natural avalanche activity over the past weeks. However, continue to pay attention to the weaker basal facet layer in areas where the snowpack is shallower (<2 m) such as moraines or wind-scoured areas, or in places where a large trigger like a cornice fall could impact the slope. We believe the chances of these are unlikely, but not impossible.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Apr 1st, 2023 4:00PM
