Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 11th, 2021 8:00AM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs and Loose Dry.
Jonas Hoke,
Today will likely be the coldest day of the year, especially with the wind chill.
Eliminate any risk of an overnighter if things go wrong by planning to end your day early.
Summary
Weather Forecast
This Arctic air is here to stay until at least the weekend.
Today: Sunny, Alpine High -25*C, Moderate Northerly winds.
Tonight: Clear, Low -25*C, Light NE wind.
Fri: Sunny with cloudy periods, High -17*C, light E wind.
Saturday: Sunny with cloudy periods. Low -20 C, High -18 C. Light East wind.
Snowpack Summary
Previous strong S'ly, then NW'ly, winds built slabs in exposed areas, these are facetting and softening, but remain reactive in isolated pockets. Facetting of surface snow is also making loose dry avalanches possible in steep terrain. A weak interface of a suncrust with facets, surface hoar was buried in late January and is now down 70-90cm.
Avalanche Summary
A group of skiers had a close call triggering a couple of large avalanches on the persistent weak layer from Jan 24th on the South face of Corbin Peak.
A skier-triggered sz 2 windslab on Bagheera was reported Tuesday.
Several naturally trigerred loose, dry avalanches to sz 2 were observed from steep terrain in the highway corridor on Tuesday.
Confidence
Problems
Persistent Slabs
The January 24th weak interface may be triggerable on solar aspects, where facets and/or surface hoar is sitting on a suncrust.
The bond at this interface may be weakening, with cold temps promoting facetting.
- Be wary of slopes that did not previously avalanche
- Dig down to find and test weak layers before committing to a line.
Aspects: South East, South, South West.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Wind Slabs
Pockets of soft windslab exist in exposed areas.
These have been stubborn to move, but demand respect in steeper, more committing start zones.
- Be cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.
- Be careful with reverse loaded pockets of wind slab at ridgeline.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Loose Dry
Cold temps are faceting the surface snow, allowing it to flow like sugar down steep slopes.
Be aware of your sluff when skiing steeper terrain.
- Avoid terrain traps, such as gullies, where the consequences of a small avalanche could be serious.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Feb 12th, 2021 8:00AM
