Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Dec 26th, 2015 8:00AM

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

Parks Canada percy woods, Parks Canada

Southerly winds have redistributed storm snow along alpine ridges.  Watch for windslab on alpine lee features.

Summary

Weather Forecast

slightly warmer temperatures and light precipitation are expected to move in Saturday afternoon and last into midday Monday.  Winds out of the south should just edge into moderate over the time period.

Snowpack Summary

50cm of low density storm snow has settled to around 30cm+.  Cool to cold temperatures have been providing surface facetting.  Moderate winds along ridge tops are forming soft slabs along immediate lee.  Field observations show the Dec 2 interface is becoming hard to trigger and overall the mid to lower snowpack is generally strong.

Avalanche Summary

Moderate winds out of the south triggered a small avalanche cycle east of the pass along the steep faces of Mt MacDonald and Mt Tupper.

Confidence

Problems

Wind Slabs

An icon showing Wind Slabs
Winds picked up yesterday out of the south redistributing the low density storm snow onto alpine immediate lee features. Be cautious as you transition into wind effected terrain and assess before committing to it.
Use caution in lee areas. Recent wind loading have created wind slabs.Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.

Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.

Elevations: Alpine.

Likelihood

Possible

Expected Size

1 - 2

Loose Dry

An icon showing Loose Dry
With 50cm of recent storm snow expect sluffing in steep to extreme terrain.  Avoid terrain trap features and be aware where people are above and below you.
Be aware of party members below you that may be exposed to your sluffs.

Aspects: All aspects.

Elevations: All elevations.

Likelihood

Unlikely - Possible

Expected Size

1 - 2

Valid until: Dec 27th, 2015 8:00AM