Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 20th, 2022 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Loose Wet.
wlewis,
Avalanche Canada
Southwest winds have turned northeast and may load unexpected features. Watch for reactivity on all aspects around ridgelines.
Keep a close eye on south facing slopes as the sun may quickly destabilize the surface snow.
Summary
Confidence
Weather Forecast
Arctic air drops temperatures and clears skies this week. Expect mostly sunny days with a chance of occasional flurries.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy with light to moderate northwest winds. Freezing levels drop to valley bottom. Chance of isolated flurries.
MONDAY: Mostly sunny with scattered cloud, light easterly winds. Chance of isolated flurries. Freezing levels at valley bottom. Alpine high of -10.
TUESDAY: Mostly clear skies with strong sun, moderate northeast winds. Freezing levels at valley bottom, alpine high of -12.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly clear skies with moderate northwest winds. Freezing level at valley bottom, high of -12.
Avalanche Summary
We expect human triggered slab avalanches to have occurred on Sunday, within the storm snow.
Snowpack Summary
20-30cm of recent snowfall sits over a melt freeze crust on solar aspects at all elevations, and wind effected surfaces in exposed terrain. In sheltered terrain features a small layer of surface hoar may exists above the melt freeze crust.
Two layers of buried surface hoar sit in the upper snowpack, most likely to be found and triggered on north aspects in sheltered areas. These are now down around 30-50 cm and 60-80 cm deep. These layers remain reactive in some snowpack tests and could be triggered by very large loads such as a cornice fall or step down avalanche.
The lower snowpack is well consolidated, with a crust/facet layer found 100 to 200 cm deep. It is currently considered dormant, but could become active later this season. Check out the forecaster blog for more information.
Terrain and Travel
- Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
- The new snow could use a day or two to settle and stabilize before we start to tee up the bigger lines.
- Minimize exposure to sun-exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Watch for pockets around ridgelines, loaded from moderate southwest winds.
Wind slabs may be also build over the day as east/northeast winds pick up so check for wind loading on all aspects.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Loose Wet
Watch for moist and wet surface snow on slopes that receive significant sun. Recent dry storm snow could rapidly lose stability with strong solar input. Warming will be most significant around rock features.
Aspects: South East, South, South West.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Feb 21st, 2022 4:00PM
