Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 6th, 2021 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
Ian Jackson,
Clear, dry weather pattern over the next few days will help settle the recently created windslabs. A few spotty persistent weak layers exist in the snowpack and should be considered when choosing your objective
Summary
Weather Forecast
A ridge is building over the next 3 days. Expect benign weather: light westerly alpine winds, clear skies and cool overnight lows in the -15 to -20 range.
Snowpack Summary
5-10 cm on Wed brings recent storm snow totals to 20-50 cm at treeline. This sits on a spotty stellar/surface hoar layer in some sheltered locations. Wind effect in open areas at treeline and in the alpine. Two weak layers from early Dec persist 50-100 cm down. These have been generally unreactive but still giving hard sudden planar results
Avalanche Summary
Poor visibility today meant limited observations in the alpine, but strong to extreme winds and 5-10 cm snow likely meant avalanches were running. Test pits at treeline show moderate resistant planar results down 30-45 on a preserved stellar/ surface hoar interface and moderate to hard sudden planar results down 50-70 cm on surface hoar/ facets.
Confidence
Wind effect is extremely variable
Problems
Wind Slabs
Strong winds and recent snow have formed wind slabs in lee areas at treeline and in the alpine. The likelihood of triggering these is slowly going down, but it is a good idea to avoid travel on or under steep loaded terrain for the next couple days.
- Use caution in lee areas in the alpine and treeline. Recent storm snow has formed wind slabs.
- Watch for signs of slab formation, such as whumpfing and shooting cracks.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
A spotty layer of stellars and surface hoar 20-50 cm down has been reactive in steep terrain. Most likely an issue in steep terrain that was sheltered from previous winds.
2 weak layers from Dec persist and still produce hard sudden planar results
- Convex features and steep unsupported slopes will be most prone to triggering.
- Dig down to find and test weak layers before committing to a piece of terrain.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Treeline, Below Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 7th, 2021 4:00PM
