Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Apr 4th, 2021 3:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Loose Wet, Wind Slabs and Cornices.
matt,
Avalanche Canada
Half-full or half-empty? For the half-full folks, the travel is pretty good which helps on the longer trips. For the half-empty folks, the ski quality isn't cover shot quality right now. But for the rest of us, the weather and snowpack is perfect for a nice walk in the Park.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate -
Weather Forecast
Looks like another marginal valley bottom freeze is coming for Sunday night. 1800m to 2000m barely dipped below zero this week end, Tomorrow's high will be -1, with clear skies by noon. The winds will remain light at all elevations. There could be a few flurries in the AM as the clouds clear out.
Avalanche Summary
A late day flight yesterday noted some new loose dry avalanches on south aspects, but still no widespread slab activity.
Snowpack Summary
No new snow and little wind is keeping our snowpack on the slow to develop program. The mild freeze/thaw cycles are helping with settlement and bonding within the upper layers. Which is good, but it also means the crusts are slowly consuming our dry snow patches. Alpine windslabs remain on most aspects and are proving to be stable, but not fantastic skiing.Â
Terrain and Travel
- Avoid steep convex slopes.
- Cornices become weak with daytime heating or solar exposure.
- Avoid sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if snow is moist or wet
Problems
Loose Wet
No surprise here, if the sun comes out expect a quick deterioration on solar aspects. Freezes have been marginal down low lately, which also contributes to the quick change.
Aspects: South East, South, South West, West.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Wind Slabs
These kept us on our toes today from a ski quality perspective as well as an avalanche problem. They seem to be variable in hardness and location despite being widespread. Ski quality could be described as "engaging".
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Cornices
This is nothing new for the experienced, but for the newcomers, cornices should have a permanent place on the spring time hazard list. As the slabs beneath them soften from heat, they'll become more reactive.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South, South West.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Apr 5th, 2021 3:00PM
