Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Glacier.
Watch for signs of instability and have a dig to see if the persistent slab problem exists in your location.
Cold temperatures and short daylight hours could turn even a small incident into a serious emergency. Bring extra warm layers and be back well before sunset.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
Isolated natural sluffs and small avalanches up to size 1.5 have been observed over the past few days along the highway corridor.
Reports of small human-triggered avalanches, size 0.5 on unsupported pillows and rolls, failing on the Nov 17 layer.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 10cm now buries the Dec 16 surface hoar (up to 5mm at tree line and below) and a crust on solar aspects.
The snowpack is thin (~110cm at 2000m) and generally facetted. The Dec 5 and Nov 17 surface hoar layers are down ~40cm and ~70cm respectively and have produced sudden results in snowpack tests.
Weather Summary
An Arctic front is moving its way through the region which will drop temperatures down to -25 by Sunday evening. Winds are forecast to be light with overcast skies and light snow flurries during the day.
Clearing skies, light winds, and cold temps for Monday and Tuesday with a gradual warming trend and snow for the end of the week.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Uncertainty is best managed through conservative terrain choices at this time.
- Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks or recent avalanches.
- Exercise caution on steep, unsupported slopes.
Avalanche Problems
Persistent Slabs
The Nov 17 and Dec 5 surface hoar are down ~75cm and ~35cm respectively, and most reactive around tree line. These layers give 'sudden' results in snowpack tests. If triggered, these layers can produce avalanches across continuous and broken features.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2.5