Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Mar 17th, 2015 9:15AM
The alpine rating is Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
, the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems includeSummary
Confidence
Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Thursday
Weather Forecast
Generally light precipitation is expected on Wednesday, with the freezing level around 1700 m and winds light to moderate from the S to SW. Moderate snow is expected on Thursday and Friday (15-20 cm /day) above about 1600 m (rain at lower elevations). Winds are moderate to strong from the S to SW.
Avalanche Summary
A skier accidentally triggered a size 3 hard wind slab on Monday, which failed on the March crust/facet layer. Skiers also remotely triggered size 1.5-2.5 slabs, most on northerly aspects, some of which failed on the crust/facet layer. A natural and human-triggered cycle of wind slabs was reported on Sunday.
Snowpack Summary
Wind slabs (most recently formed with northerly winds, but previously lee to the S-SW) and wind-affected surfaces are the main theme at the snow surface. Cornices may also be fragile. Older, buried wind slabs may be hard to spot. A crust/facet persistent weak layer, buried anywhere from 10 to 60 cm down, has started to play up (see avalanche summary). Avalanche problems associated with this layer may linger for a while. A deeper crust (formed by heavy rain in February) is down around 70 cm. Below the deeper crust, the snowpack is reported to be generally well-settled and strong. Below treeline, the diminishing snowpack is trending isothermal (same temperature throughout).
Problems
Wind Slabs
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Mar 18th, 2015 2:00PM