Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Tutshi, Wheaton, White Pass East, White Pass West, Yukon.
New wind slab formation is possible Tuesday overnight with a forecast for moderate to strong winds in the alpine. Continually assess conditions as you travel and use a cautious approach in wind-exposed terrain.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported over the past few days.
New wind slab formation is possible Tuesday overnight and may be reactive to human triggering on Wednesday.
Snowpack Summary
On Tuesday, the Avalanche Canada field team was reporting a rime crust on the surface and increasing wind speeds at the end of the day. If the wind speed continues to increase Tuesday night, new wind slab formation should be expected on Wednesday at higher elevations.
Snow depth at White Pass is around 100 cm in sheltered areas and up to 200 cm on wind-loaded slopes. Shallower snowpack areas (< 1 m) are reported to be quite facetted and loose.
Weather Summary
Tuesday night
Flurries up to around 5 cm, moderate to strong S wind, treeline low around 10 °C.
Wednesday
Mainly cloudy with sunny breaks and a chance of flurries, light to moderate SE-S winds, treeline high around -8 °C.
Wednesday night and Thursday
Mainly cloudy with light snowfall 5-10 cm, moderate to strong S-SW winds, treeline high around -4 °C.
Friday
Cloudy with light snowfall 5-10 cm, strong SE-S winds, treeline high around 0 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Depending on the strength of the wind on Tuesday night, new wind slab formation is possible at higher elevations. Be sure to assess for changing conditions as you gain elevation, and use extra caution in leeward terrain features.
Aspects: North, North East, East, West, North West.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2