Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 24th, 2022 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
Timothy Johnson,
Watch out for lingering wind slabs in the alpine.
Summary
Weather Forecast
Tuesday
Cloudy with sunny periods.
Precipitation: Nil.
Alpine temperature: High -9 C.
Ridge wind west: 15 km/h.
Freezing level at valley bottom.
Wednesday
A mix of sun and cloud.
Precipitation: Nil.
Alpine temperature: Low -12 C, High -8 C.
Ridge wind west: 15-30 km/h.
Freezing level at valley bottom.
Snowpack Summary
Widespread wind affect and stripping in alpine from Sunday. A thin sun crust is likely on the surface on solar aspects into the alpine. The midpack is mostly supportive around the Icefields and unsupportive around Maligne. Weak facet layers are down ~20-30cm and a crust is down 40-60cm below 1950m, faceting but still reactive in snowpit tests.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were reported on Monday. Sunday's Icefield's patrol noted a low elevation wet loose surface avalanche cycle with numerous size 1's.
Confidence
Due to the number and quality of field observations
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind slabs are likely still lingering in spots. Watch out for hollow sounding snow where a hard wind slab sits over weak facets.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
- Dig down to find and test weak layers before committing to a line.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
The slab problem overlies different layers depending on elevation and aspect. Lower elevations has a rain crust 40-60cm down with weak facets on top reacting to tests. Above 1950m, a buried surface facet layer down 20-30cm is the primary concern.
- Dig down to find and test weak layers before committing to a line.
- Avoid shallow snowpack areas where triggering is more likely.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 25th, 2022 4:00PM
