Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 15th, 2021 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs, Loose Dry and Persistent Slabs.
Jesse Milner,
The winds have redistributed the recent storm snow into windslabs well down into the terrain. Luckliy treeline and below has better skiing.
Summary
Weather Forecast
Saturday: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries. High -9. Wind W: 15-35 km/h
Sunday: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Low -11, High -7. Wind W: 20 km/h gusting to 55 km/h.
Monday: A mix of sun and cloud. Low -14 °C, High -9 °C. Mostly light ridge wind occasionally gusting to 35 km/h.
Snowpack Summary
January 13th brought upwards of 55cm of new snow in the region. It has settled to 20-30cm with mild temperatures with continued wind slab development. The alpine has had continued strong winds promoting wind effect, wind slab formation and cornice growth. The mid pack is supportive. Near the ground it is weak facets and depth hoar.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed since Wednesday. Wednesday's explosive control action had surprisingly little results. During and after Tuesday-Wednesdays' storm, a significant natural cycle up to size 3.5 was noted occurring mostly in the Alpine open features South through Westerly aspects.
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Confidence
Due to the number of field observations
Problems
Wind Slabs
Continued strong westerly winds in the alpine and exposed treeline have redistributed the snow well down into the terrain.
- Avoid steep convexities or areas with a thin or variable snowpack.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Loose Dry
Ice climbers be wary of this problem as even small avalanches can quickly gain volume and have serious consequences. The storm slow remains loose and unconsolidated. Watch for triggers that would wake this up such as rising temperatures and wind.
- Minimize overhead exposure during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
Use caution around thin to thick areas where buried deeper weak layers could be triggered.
- Dig down to find and test weak layers before committing to a line.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 16th, 2021 4:00PM
