Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Mar 22nd, 2016 4:52PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Persistent Slabs and Cornices.
Grant Statham,
Avalanche Canada
Overcast skies on Wednesday should mitigate the effect of the sun, but warm temperatures in the valley bottoms remain a concern. Field ice climbers - go early and be done by noon - this time of year the sun bakes the slopes above the routes by 12:00.
Summary
Weather Forecast
Overcast skies and light now forecast for Wednesday with temperatures remaining in the -5 to -10 range as long as the sun doesn't come out, and light winds. This time of year it only takes a short burst of strong sun to have an influence on the snowpack - but right now it looks like Wednesday will be a pretty benign day in the mountains.
Snowpack Summary
Dry snow on shaded slopes above 1800m, but otherwise expect surface crusts in most locations. In the top meter of the snowpack, several buried suncrusts exist and are a concern on west, south and east aspects. Generally the snowpack is well settled, but we remain concerned for buried crusts and afternoon wet snow avalanches on the Field ice climbs.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed or reported today in the Little Yoho region - we did close the Field back road in anticipation of afternoon wet snow avalanches running down near Guiness Gully, etc. It reached 13 degrees down in Field on Tuesday - but Wednesday should be cooler and overcast.
Confidence
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Several buried suncrusts exist in the upper pack on on S through E and W aspects. Dig down to look for and test these crusts before committing to any big slopes - we were surprised by a buried suncrust just last week.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Cornices
Spring is cornice season - meaning that they are large, and warm temperatures make them weak. Ensure you give them a wide berth on ridge crests, as they can pull back a long way when they fail. If you need to travel under cornices - move quickly.
- Cornices become weak with daytime heating, so travel early on exposed slopes.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Mar 23rd, 2016 4:00PM
