Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Mar 21st, 2012 4:00PM
The alpine rating is Wind Slabs, Cornices and Loose Wet.
, the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems includeSummary
Confidence
Fair - Due to limited field observations
Weather Forecast
Thursday: A mix of sun and cloudy with a chance of flurries - 2-5cm. The freezing level should rise to 800m during the day. Winds are moderate from the southeast. Friday and Saturday: A ridge of high pressure builds in giving drier and sunnier conditions. The freezing level bounces from valley bottom overnight to around 1000m during the day. Winds are generally light from the south.
Avalanche Summary
No new slab avalanches have been reported in the past day or two, although observations were quite limited on Tuesday. There were a few reports of cornice failures on the weekend, but most did not trigger slabs.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 25cm of new snow covers the previous surface which included a sun crust on southerly aspects, surface facets or surface hoar in cool shady areas, and pockets of wind slab in exposed terrain. Moderate southerly winds have created new wind slabs in lee and cross-loaded terrain. The mid February persistent weak layer interface, comprised of spotty surface hoar, facets and crusts, is buried 80-120 cm below the surface. No recent activity has been reported on this interface. However, recent snowpack tests have been giving hard but sudden "pop" results and indicate it is has the potential to react given the right trigger in the right place. For route selection, it should still be on your radar and is more likely to be triggered on steeper, unsupported terrain. Cornices in the area are reported to be very large and primed for natural collapse or triggering by a person.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Cornices
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Loose Wet
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Mar 22nd, 2012 9:00AM