Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Dec 16th, 2021 4:32PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs.
Conrad Janzen,
Great skiing conditions continue with good snow coverage and reduced avalanche hazard. We are still watching for wind loading in steep alpine terrain, and keeping an eye on both the basal facets and Dec 2 crust as the snowpack develops.
Summary
Weather Forecast
Light NW winds, cold temperatures (below -20 C) and no new snow expected on Friday. There may be a slight inversion in the alpine. Saturday brings increasing winds and some additional snow but amounts are uncertain.
Snowpack Summary
15-25 cm of low density surface snow with limited wind slab development in the alpine. There is a Dec 2 rain crust present below 2200 m and down 40-60 cm with facets above and below which will be one to watch in the future. The Nov 5 crust/facet interface is found near the base of the snowpack. Snowpack depths at treeline are from 120 to 180 cm.
Avalanche Summary
Local ski areas had explosive controlled wind slabs up to size 2 in steep alpine features and were able to ski cut small lee loaded features. A size 3.5 natural avalanche failing on glacier ice above the Bow Hut approach occurred in the last 24 hrs. This appeared to be triggered by wind loading and shows some of the uncertainty in the snowpack.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations
Problems
Wind Slabs
Only a few small wind triggered natural avalanches have been observed over the past several days but human triggering is still possible in some steep lee areas.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Dec 17th, 2021 4:00PM
