Wind Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Possible
- Size
- 1–2
Winds switching from southerly to northerly over the past several days have formed wind slabs on all aspects.
Avalanche forecast
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Jan 14 – 15, 2023Avalanche Canada
Archived · expired 4 years ago
Avalanche danger
Mon
Tue
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
Highlights
Wind slabs are the main concern. Winds switching direction have formed wind slabs on all aspects.
Avalanche problems
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
Recent avalanche activity has been limited to wind slab avalanches to size to size 1.5 in alpine terrain.
Snowpack Summary
Recent southerly wind and light amounts of snow have fed wind slabs formation in lee terrain features near ridges. Moist snow or a hard crust is found below around 900 m and on solar aspects.
Weak layers that were reactive over the Christmas and New Year's period have shown signs of bonding and gaining strength. These include a surface hoar layer buried on Dec 28 found 40 to 60 cm deep and a facet layer buried on Dec 23 found 60 to 100 cm deep.
Weather Summary
Friday Night
Mainly cloudy with scattered flurries, accumulation 3-8cm. Moderate southerly wind. Treeline high temperature around -3 with a temperature inversion possible.
Saturday
Mainly cloudy with flurries, accumulation 2-5cm. Moderate to strong south and southwest wind. Treeline high temperature around -2.
Sunday
Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries. Light south winds. Treeline high temperature around -4 °C.
Monday
Mainly cloudy with scattered flurries. Moderate south winds. Treeline high temperature around -4 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
- Exercise caution on steep, unsupported slopes.
- Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.