Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Nov 10th, 2020 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Loose Dry.
Stephen Holeczi,
New snow won't likely stick to the Nov.5 crust very well. There's not much snow over it yet, but watch for any local wind slabs or power sluffing in steep terrain. The crust carries really well for skiing.
Summary
Weather Forecast
Wednesday: Cold in the AM (down to -20C) with SW alpine winds increasing from light to moderate over the day. No new snow expected.
Thursday: Still fairly chilly with winds increasing into the strong range. No new snow expected.
For more weather information click here.
Snowpack Summary
5-10 cm of low density new snow sits on top of a widely variable snowpack. The Nov 5 rain crust sits 20cm off the ground with facets below, is up to 15cm thick, and has been observed to 2500m. At treeline the snowpack ranges from 30-70 cm deep. Some wind slab development in alpine areas, but we have limited observations.
Avalanche Summary
Climbers observed large, loose dry avalanches today in the Storm Creek drainage. These possibly were sliding on the harder surfaces below. Some smaller soft slabs were noted at the Lake Louise ski hill. We still have limited observations from higher alpine terrain.
Confidence
Due to the number and quality of field observations
Problems
Wind Slabs
Some new and older wind slabs are suspected to exist in higher alpine terrain. Having said this, we have only a few observations, and don't know how prevalent they are in higher alpine terrain.
- Be careful around wind loaded areas near ridge crests, cross loaded gullies and roll-overs.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets while approaching and climbing ice routes.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Loose Dry
A short term problem which is mainly directed at climbers with terrain overhead. Some big power sluffs today with minimal wind input. Likely some of the snow is sliding on the harder surface it sits on. If winds increase, this problem will pick up.
- 874
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Nov 11th, 2020 4:00PM
