Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Dec 2nd, 2016 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Loose Dry.
tim haggarty,
Avalanche Canada
No ice to climb in Field, and shallow snow in the valley bottoms. XC skiing on the roads or trails is good, but there's only 28cm of snow at the end of the Yoho Valley Rd. Watch for hazard to increase depending upon snowfall amounts by late Sunday.
Summary
Weather Forecast
The remains of a low that hit the N coast is making its way to the divide over the next 24-36 hours. We have already seen the blue skies disappear, light snowfall begin closer to the divide, and SW winds arrive. Up to 20 cm of snow is expected with mild temperatures and W winds before an arctic ridge builds Sunday night and winter really arrives.
Snowpack Summary
A 70 to 100cm snowpack exists above treeline in most areas. The surface snow is faceting: weakening with cold temperatures. A mid pack crust is allowing the snowpack to carry travelers fairly well except in shallow areas. We are watching for this crust to weaken but it is not producing avalanches yet. Isolated wind slabs exist above treeline.
Avalanche Summary
No obs Little Yoho. The SW winds were blowing hard on the alpine ridges this morning. Only minor amounts of snow remain available for the winds to transport but surface faceting has weakened the snow in alpine lee areas and we witnessed a couple of size 1.5 loose dry avalanches sluff off the steep lee terrain below the summit ridge on Mt Cascade.
Confidence
Problems
Loose Dry
Weakening of the surface snow has allowed the wind to easily trigger these sluffs in the lee of alpine ridges in very steep terrain. Climbers and skiers that are pushing into terrain that could be affected by these events should keep them in mind.
- Use caution above cliffs where small avalanches may have severe consequences.
- Be very cautious with gully features.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Dec 3rd, 2016 4:00PM
