Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 15th, 2022 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs.
rbuhler,
Avalanche Canada
The recent storm snow is expected to remain reactive to human triggering in wind exposed terrain at higher elevations. Watch for changing conditions as you gain elevation and use extra caution in wind exposed terrain.
Summary
Confidence
High -
Weather Forecast
A ridge of high pressure brings some clearing before the next system arrives on Sunday afternoon bringing active weather for Monday.Â
Saturday night: Partly cloudy, light variable wind, freezing levels dropping to near valley bottom.Â
Sunday: Mostly cloudy in the morning with sunny breaks, snowfall in the afternoon 5-15 cm, winds becoming strong SW, freezing levels reaching around 1000 m.
Sunday night: Snowfall 10-15 cm, strong SW wind, freezing levels around 1000 m.
Monday: Snowfall 10-15 cm, strong SW wind, freezing levels reaching around 1400 m.
Tuesday: Mainly sunny, light variable wind, treeline high around -8 °C.Â
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were reported to have occurred on Friday. On Thursday, observations were limited in the region due to the conditions but a natural avalanche cycle up to size 3 was reported southwest of Valemount and a couple small wet loose avalanches were observed below 1700 m.Â
On Wednesday, numerous natural wind slabs up to size 2 were reported south of Valemount on a variety of aspects above 1800 m which were typically 30 cm thick. Further west, a skier remotely triggered a size 2 wind slab on a north aspect at treeline which was 40 cm thick.Â
Snowpack Summary
The recent storm snow which had accumulated over the past week has settled to around 20-30 cm and now only seems reactive in wind loaded terrain. A thin new breakable crust may be found in the upper snowpack but only appears to exist to around 1700 m in the south of the region and 1500 m in the north. A new layer of surface hoar has also been reported and may now be buried below a few centimeters of new snow.Â
A layer of facets from early January may be found down 40-80 cm but has not been reactive recently. The early-December crust/facet interface can typically be found down 50-150 cm but has been dormant recently and is no longer expected to be creating an avalanche problem in the region.Â
Terrain and Travel
- Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and wind exposure.
- Be careful as you transition into wind affected terrain.
Problems
Wind Slabs
The recent storm snow is expected to remain reactive to human triggering in wind exposed terrain at higher elevations.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 16th, 2022 4:00PM
