Conditions are expected to be tricky on Tuesday following the storm Monday night and conservative decision making is very important. Use extra caution on steep south facing slopes in afternoon if the sun is out in full force.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Monday
Weather Forecast
20-30cm of new snowfall is expected at higher elevations from the storm Monday overnight. Alpine winds are expected to be strong from the SW and freezing levels could reach as high as 2000m during the storm. A ridge of high pressure should replace the storm early Tuesday morning. A mix of sun and cloud is expected for Tuesday with freezing levels around 1400m and light alpine wind. The next storm pulse is currently forecast to arrive Tuesday overnight and another 10-20cm of snowfall is forecast for Wednesday. Freezing levels are expected to reach around 1700m and alpine winds are forecast to be moderate from the southeast. Unsettled conditions and light snowfall are expected for Thursday.
Avalanche Summary
On Sunday, ski cutting produced several size 1-1.5 avalanches. This includes soft storm slabs up to 30cm thick, wind slabs in lee and cross loaded features, and loose wet avalanches at lower elevations. Explosives also released a couple size 2 cornices which triggered soft slab avalanches on the slopes below. On Saturday, ski cutting produced size 1-1.5 soft slab avalanches up to 30cm thick in lee and cross loaded features in the alpine and at treeline. Explosives released cornices size 1-2 in the alpine. Rain-soaked lower elevations are unlikely to see much in the way of avalanche activity on Tuesday, but storm slab avalanches are expected to be reactive to human-triggering at higher elevations with ongoing snowfall and wind continuing overnight Monday. Wind loaded features should be the biggest concern but a more widespread storm slab avalanche problem may develop in the deepest snowfall areas. Cornices are reported to large and fragile, and may fail under the weight of a person.
Snowpack Summary
40-60cm of new snow has accumulated in the last week and overlies a thick melt-freeze crust which extends into the alpine. Moderate wind transport and cornice development have both been reported over the weekend and Monday night's storm will continue to develop wind slabs and cornices. In the deepest snowfall areas, a more widespread storm slab may become reactive with the additional loading overnight. Moist snow is being reported up to around 1800m on Sunday. Rain will continue to soak lower elevations overnight. The weak surface hoar layer from early January can be found down over a meter and is still reactive in isolated snowpack tests but triggering an avalanche on this layer has become unlikely.
rbuhler,
Avalanche Canada
