Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Little Yoho.
Overcast skies on Thursday should mitigate the effect of the sun, but warm temperatures in the valley bottoms remain a concern. Field ice climbers - go early and be done by noon - this time of year the sun bakes the slopes above the routes by 12:00.
Weather Forecast
Overcast skies and light now forecast for Thursday with temperatures remaining in the -2 to -9 range as long as the sun doesn't come out, and light winds. This time of year it only takes a short burst of strong sun to have an influence on the snowpack - but right now it looks like Thursday will be a pretty benign day in the mountains.
Snowpack Summary
Dry snow on shaded slopes above 1800m, but otherwise expect surface crusts in most locations. In the top meter of the snowpack, several buried suncrusts exist and are a concern on west, south and east aspects. Generally the snowpack is well settled, but we remain concerned for buried crusts and wet afternoon avalanches on the Field climbs.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed or reported today in the Little Yoho region.
Confidence
Due to the quality of field observations
Avalanche Problems
Persistent Slabs
Several buried suncrusts exist in the upper pack on on S through E and W aspects. Dig down to look for and test these crusts before committing to any big slopes - we were surprised by a buried suncrust just last week.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 2 - 3
Cornices
Cornices are large, and warm temperatures make them weak. Ensure you give them a wide berth on ridge crests, as they can pull back a long way when they fail and may trigger an avalanche below. If you need to travel under cornices - move quickly.
- Cornices become weak with daytime heating, so travel early on exposed slopes.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 2 - 3