Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Little Yoho.
Some great skiing to be had for those who brave the cold! If you go, remember to pack extra layers, choose short objectives close to the road, and be prepared to survive the cold if something goes wrong.
Weather Forecast
A generally stable weather pattern for the next 3 days. Daytime highs will be ~ -20 C and overnight lows ~ -30 C. A weak system moves through Wednesday afternoon/ overnight with increased alpine winds and a few centimetres of snow. Otherwise, clear skies, cold temperatures and light winds dominate.
Snowpack Summary
Isolated windslabs remain primarily in alpine terrain but also in isolated treeline areas. There is 70-110 cm over the Dec 2 crust/facet combo which exists below 2200m. This has not been an active problem yet but we are monitoring it closely. Shallow areas (<100 cm) may still have weak basal facets near the ground, but not prevalent in most areas
Avalanche Summary
A couple size 1 loose dry natural avalanches were observed on Tuesday in steep alpine terrain. These were primarily from steep, rocky, thin snowpack areas and likely a result of the cold temperatures facetting the snowpack. Local ski areas were able to trigger small wind slabs in lee areas in the alpine with ski cuts and explosives.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Last weeks snow and winds from a variety of directions have created wind slabs in the alpine. These can be triggered by skiers/boarders in the right spot, so choose your lines of ascent and descent with this in mind.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
- Watch for surface cracking and stiffer surface layers of snow. Avoid wind loaded terrain.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2