Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 9th, 2020 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs.
ldreier,
Avalanche Canada
The wind shifted to a northerly direction loading lee terrain features on all aspects. Wind slabs might still be sensitive to human triggers. Be careful when transitioning into wind affected terrain.
Summary
Confidence
Weather Forecast
Sunday Night: Cloudy, moderate northwest wind, alpine high -8 C, freezing level at valley bottom.
Monday: Sunny, light north wind, alpine high -10 C, freezing level 1000 m.
Tuesday: Mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries, light westerly wind, alpine high -7 C, freezing level 1000 m.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, light northwest wind, alpine high -7 C, freezing level 1000 m.
Avalanche Summary
After the storm on Saturday numerous small (size 1) and a few large (size 2) avalanches were triggered with explosives and several small avalanches were triggered by skiers.
On Friday a few small (size 1) slab avalanches were triggered by skiers in lee terrain features.
On Thursday a few large (size 2-2.5) slab avalanches released naturally during the night. One large (size 3) slab avalanche was triggered by explosives in the west of the region. Several small (size 1-1.5) slab avalanches were triggered by skiers mainly on south and east aspects.
Snowpack Summary
The wind shifted direction and redistributed the snow onto a variety of aspects loading lee terrain features at treeline and in the alpine. The recent storm snow sits on a thick rain crust as high as 2000 m and varies from 25-45 cm in the east of the region to 40-100 cm in the west of the region. Recent avalanches slid on the crust or released within the storm snow.
Weak facet/crust layers near the base of the snowpack have not been an active avalanche problem recently.
Terrain and Travel
- Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
- Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
- A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind has recently switched direction from northwest to southwest and back again. Most of the recent avalanches released within the recent storm snow or on the thick rain crust underneath. Wind slabs might still be sensitive to human triggers.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Feb 10th, 2020 5:00PM
