Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Feb 5th, 2017 4:28PM

The alpine rating is considerable, the treeline rating is considerable, and the below treeline rating is considerable. Known problems include Storm Slabs.

jsmith, Avalanche Canada

South Coast.

Touchy storm slabs reactive to human triggers. Storm slab reactivity may persist for longer than usual due to the cold snow overlying a hard crust.

Summary

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Monday: Mostly cloudy / Light, southwest winds / Freezing level sea level.Tuesday: Mostly cloudy / Light, southeast winds / Freezing level 250 m.Wednesday: 10-15 cm new snow/ Moderate to strong, southwest winds/ Freezing level 500 m.

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday, there were numerous reports of human triggered avalanches up to size 2.5 running on a knife hard crust much further than expected.

Snowpack Summary

45-80 cm of recent storm snow is sitting on a knife hard crust. These storm slabs have been very reactive to human triggers. The mid and lower snowpack are settled and well bonded with the average snowpack depth at treeline 250-300 cm.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Touchy storm slabs reactive to human triggers. Use small slopes with low consequence to test the bond of the storm snow.

Use conservative route selection, choose moderate angled and supported terrain with low consequence.The new snow will require several days to settle and stabilize.Watch for signs of instability such as whumpfing, shotting cracks, or recent natural avalanching.

Aspects: All aspects.

Elevations: All elevations.

Likelihood

Likely - Very Likely

Expected Size

1 - 2

Valid until: Feb 6th, 2017 2:00PM