Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Jan 8th, 2019 4:32PM

The alpine rating is considerable, the treeline rating is considerable, and the below treeline rating is moderate. Known problems include Storm Slabs.

Avalanche Canada pgoddard, Avalanche Canada

Dial back your exposure to steep terrain as the storm rolls through over the next couple of days.

Summary

Confidence

Moderate - Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Wednesday

Weather Forecast

TUESDAY NIGHT: 10-15 cm snow. Freezing level near 1200 m. Moderate to strong south-westerly winds. WEDNESDAY: 15-20 cm snow. Freezing level near 1800 m. Moderate to strong southerly winds. Expect a further 10-15 cm overnight. THURSDAY: 5-10 cm snow. Freezing level near 1500 m. Moderate to strong south-westerly winds. Expect a further 5-10 cm overnight. FRIDAY: 5 cm snow above about 2000 m. Freezing level rising through the day to near 2200 m. More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Avalanche Summary

Several small wind slabs were triggered by skiers near ridge crest on Monday. Incoming weather is expected to create new storm slabs.

Snowpack Summary

New snow, wind and warming are expected to build new storm slabs. Cornices are also likely to grow larger. The new snow will bury old wind slabs on a variety of slopes at alpine and treeline elevations. At treeline and below, two weak layers exist in the upper 2 m of the snowpack. These layers consist of surface hoar (feathery crystals) in more sheltered areas and a crust on solar aspects and on all aspects below 1500m.In the lower snowpack, a crust/facet (sugar snow) layer is now over 2 m deep. There have been no recent reports of avalanches on this layer, but it may still be reactive to heavy loads (such as a cornice fall) in isolated areas.

Problems

Storm Slabs

An icon showing Storm Slabs
New snow, wind and warming are expected to build storm slabs that can be triggered by the weight of a person.
Use ridges or ribs to avoid wind loaded slopes.Avoid steep slopes and convexities.If triggered, storm slabs may step down to deeper layers, resulting in large avalanches.

Aspects: All aspects.

Elevations: All elevations.

Likelihood

Likely

Expected Size

1 - 2

Valid until: Jan 9th, 2019 2:00PM