Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 11th, 2017 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
stephen holeczi,
Avalanche Canada
Steady winds from the north have blown most of the recent snow into hard slabs in unusual locations (reverse loading). If winds pick up Thursday ice climbers should be mindful of overhead terrain. SH
Summary
Weather Forecast
Expect alpine temperatures to be in the -15C range on Thursday, with much colder temperatures (-20's) in the valley bottoms. NW winds will increase in the afternoon. There is no snow in the 3 day forecast and there will be a gradual warming trend into the weekend.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 20 cm of low density snow has been blown into hard wind slabs from north winds, so expect locally deep pockets of dense wind drifts in unusual areas (reverse loading). These slabs overlie a some facet layers with the main problem being the Dec 19 interface of facets, now buried down about 50-70 cm.
Avalanche Summary
No avalanche activity reported or observed in Little Yoho today, but we have minimal observations from this area - so low confidence.
Confidence
Problems
Wind Slabs
Winds from the north have created hard wind slabs in many areas, and these are reverse from normal locations. These slabs are hard to trigger, with a single person, but if they go it will be a dense piece of snow to ride.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
Facets buried on Dec 19 are down 50-70 cm in some locations. This is a concern wherever a more cohesive slab of snow sits on top of this weakness. Tree line or wind loaded areas seem to be the primary concern.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 12th, 2017 4:00PM
