Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Feb 25th, 2023 2:00PM

The alpine rating is moderate, the treeline rating is moderate, and the below treeline rating is low. Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.

Avalanche Canada jpgagnon, Avalanche Canada

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With the cold weather keeping the instabilities a little longer than usual, let's give the new wind slabs time to stabilize.

Summary

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche has been observed or reported recently.

Thanks for contributing to the collection of this valuable data by sharing with other users on the Mountain Information Network or by writing to us directly at bulletin@avalanchequebec.ca.

Snowpack Summary

Around the summits, the wind has redistributed the available snow, exposing the January 18 crust or ice and creating a superposition of wind slabs of varying density, often very firm in alpine start zones. The January 18 crust is buried up to 120 cm of snow in leeward areas.

The best snow conditions are in areas protected from the wind, above 600m, where the snow has been preserved from the weather events of the last few weeks (thaw and wind).

In general, the height of the snow cover varies from 70 to 90 cm in the valley to 100 to 150 cm in the middle mountains.

Weather Summary

Forecast for the Chic-Chocs ridges and summits.

Synopsis: Two high pressure systems will pass over the region in the next few days.

Saturday evening and night: A few clouds. Wind west 10 to 20 km/h. Low -25 C.

Sunday: Mix of sun and clouds. Wind 10 to 20 km/h from the southwest. High -16 C.

Monday: Sunny. Wind northwest 10 to 20 kph. High -16 C.

Tuesday: Sunny. Wind southwest 20 to 30 km/h. High -12 C.For more details, see the Chic-Chocs alpine forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Small avalanches can have serious consequences in extreme terrain. Carefully evaluate your line for wind slab hazard before you commit to it.

Problems

Wind Slabs

An icon showing Wind Slabs

Signs of instability (shooting cracks) were observed on Saturday in the newly formed wind plains at treeline.

Aspects: East, South East.

Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.

Likelihood

Possible

Expected Size

1 - 2

Persistent Slabs

An icon showing Persistent Slabs

Snow has accumullated on top of the decaying crust of the January 18th, which is under more than 100 cm at times. Although the probability of triggering an avalanche is very low, this interface exists, and could, in very isolated places, react to skier traffic. An avalanche on the surface could also step down this deeper layer.

Aspects: North East, East, South East.

Elevations: Treeline.

Likelihood

Unlikely

Expected Size

1 - 2

Valid until: Feb 26th, 2023 3:00PM