Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 9th, 2024 1:45PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
matt,
Avalanche Canada
From an avalanche and ski quality perspective, things are a solid "meh" to "pretty good" right now. Acceptable skiing can be found up high, but you'll have to earn it by dealing with the valley bottom travel. There is snow available for transport, so watch those winds speeds tomorrow!
Summary
Confidence
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new today.
Snowpack Summary
The recent storm snow is settling and now averages 10 to 20cm over the Feb 3 crust. By mid afternoon today sun exposed snow was becoming moist, which will form a thin surface crust as it re-freezes tonight. Deeper down, the Feb 3rd crust is mostly supportive in the valley bottom and extends at least as high as 2500m. The bond at the storm snow - crust interface is mainly good, except on steep northerly aspects in the alpine where some previous sluffing was observed. Very isolated wind slab development has also been observed in the alpine in wind prone areas and on lee features. Ski quality is dust on crust in the alpine.
Weather Summary
Overnight Friday will see low temperatures of -15 to -18 with a daytime high of -7 by 4pm. Cloud cover will be intermittent, so expect some solar to sneak in, making it feel warmer. Winds will be out of the SW all day with speeds in the 15-20km range at ridgetop. No snow is expected, but it should be a nice day regardless.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.
- Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.
- Be carefull with sluffing in steep terrain, especially above cliffs and terrain traps.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Today these weren't a problem, but the predicted winds may change that at higher elevations. Especially if the wind direction is different from predicted.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
This will still be an issue in areas that escaped the heat, as there is no previous crust to hold the snowpack together.
Aspects: North, North East, East, West, North West.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Feb 9th, 2024 4:00PM
