Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Nov 19th, 2020 3:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
mkoppang,
Avalanche Canada
15-25cm of snow over the past few days is adding load to the November crust down 30-50cm. This and new windslabs due to moderate variable winds are giving us a complex early season snowpack.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate -
Weather Forecast
Steady light snowfalls will continue over the next few days but accumulations will be minimal. Temperatures will be more seasonal around -10C over the next few days with winds continuing in the moderate range mainly out of the SW.
Avalanche Summary
No new slab avalanche activity but a few loose dry avalanche out of steep terrain up to sz 1.5 were observed.Â
Snowpack Summary
20-25cm of snow has fallen over the past 48hrs with variable winds at the upper elevations. WIndslabs in the upper snowpack are evident in alpine areas and there is also a layer of weak facets overlying the November rain crust that is producing moderate sudden planar failures down 30-40cm. Thin areas persist where triggerring the facets overlying the november crust may be easier and also the chance of clipping a rock or tree at lower elevations are very real as its still pretty thin. The crust is being found up to 2550m and is carrying a skeirs weight well.Â
Terrain and Travel
- Be careful as you transition into wind affected terrain.
- Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
- Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Watch for windslabs in alpine areas in the upper snowpack. Gullies and ridgelines are common areas to find these issues.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
A weak facet layer overlying the November crust is producing moderate results down 30-60cm. This will be a problem for some time. Moderate sudden planar results are benig observed on this layer indicating that it is within the range of human triggerring.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Nov 20th, 2020 3:00PM
