Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Little Yoho.
Good travel conditions but cold temperatures on Sunday. Ensure you are prepared to stay warm in the event of any delay.
Ice climbers should be cautious with steep pillars which often respond poorly to cold temperatures.
Weather Forecast
Sunny skies and below normal temperatures will remain on Sunday with lows of -25 to -30'C and highs of -8 to -15'C. Wind will generally be light through all of the eastern slopes as the surface ridge stays firmly in place. Solar inputs may warm steep sunny slopes to near freezing in the afternoon.
Snowpack Summary
15-20 cm of snow over the last several days has been redistributed by moderate winds from various directions (SW, N and E). New wind slabs are present in steep lee areas, with wind effect on many open slopes. On steep solar aspects a thin sun crust is present. The deeper snowpack of Little Yoho is generally quite strong with few weaknesses.
Avalanche Summary
A couple small avalanches were observed Saturday. One natural size 2 slab released on a shallow steep SW aspect near Mt Hector, and a few small sluffs triggering thin thin wind slabs up to size 1.5 were observed near Bow Summit out of steep rocky terrain. Ski hills were able to ski cut a few thin wind slabs near ridgetops.
Confidence
Wind speed and direction is uncertain on Monday
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Recent snow and variable wind directions (SW, N and E) have developed wind slabs in lee areas on a variety of aspects. These are beginning to bond but use caution if you encounter them in steep terrain, especially in thin snowpack areas.
- Variable winds may create pockets of wind slab in some unexpected locations.
- Watch for shooting cracks or stiffer feeling snow. Avoid areas that appear wind loaded.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2