Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 5th, 2023 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Storm Slabs and Deep Persistent Slabs.
MH,
Avalanche Canada
Continuous snowfall and moderate winds will keep feeding the storm slab problem. Avoid committing avalanche terrain and allow the storm slab to stabilize.
The best snow quality is found at tree line and below.
Summary
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
Storm slabs at tree line and below were less reactive on Sunday as many happy backcountry users shredded deep pow. No new reports or observations of avalanches, but visibility was poor.
A widespread natural avalanche cycle occurred early Saturday morning with numerous avalanches size 2-3.5 throughout the highway corridor.
Snowpack Summary
30-50cm of settling storm snow over the last few days and wind has formed storm slabs. Expect this slab to be deeper in wind-loaded areas.
The mid-snowpack is mainly rounded grains.
The Nov 17 deep persistent layer is near the base of the snowpack and is weak. It is mainly facetted with a decomposing crust in some locations.
Weather Summary
Mainly cloudy for Monday with snow accumulations up to 5cm by the evening. Ridgetop winds will be SouthWest 20-50km/hr with an alpine high of -8. Freezing level will be ~1000m.
A storm front approaches Monday evening into Tuesday with 30cm of snow and another 10-15cm by Wednesday morning.
More snow on Friday as well!
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Don't be too cavalier with decision making, storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.
- Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
- Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.
- In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Recent storm snow, moderate/strong ridge-top winds, and warmer temperatures have created slabs in the upper snowpack. Watch for signs of instability such as shooting cracks and recent avalanches.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Deep Persistent Slabs
This layer has been mainly dormant for the last few weeks, but should remain as one of your concerns when entering new terrain or large open features. Watch for steep, unsupported, thin rocky areas where this layer could be activated.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Feb 6th, 2023 4:00PM
