Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 19th, 2021 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
Jeff Andrews,
Its hammer time once again as 60 to 100km/hr southwest winds blast exposed terrain tree line and above. Stick to sheltered areas to avoid testing the new slabs.
Summary
Weather Forecast
Isolated precipitation overnight Tues with strong to extreme winds from the southwest. Clearing and cooling trend follows.
Wednesday: Mix of sun and cloud. Precip: nil. Alpine Temps: Low -14 C, High -12 C. Wind west 25km/h gusting to 80 km/h.
Thursday: Mix of sun and cloud. Precip: nil. Alpine Temps: Low -15 C, High -10 C. Wind light to 15 km/h.
Snowpack Summary
30cm of unconsolidated surface snow continues to settle. Wind event in progress. Strong to X southwest winds stripping exposed terrain and continuing to promote wind effect, wind slab formation and cornice growth. The midpack is supportive. Spotty buried surface hoar can be found down 30cm and 70cm in sheltered and shaded locations below tree line.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed on Monday, but significant whoomphing was observed Sunday in low angle wind effected terrain.
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Confidence
Wind effect is extremely variable
Problems
Wind Slabs
Strong to extreme southwest winds continue to redistribute the snow well down into the terrain. Look for newly formed wind slab in non typical places lower in lee start zones and be wary of cross loading.
- Be aware of thin areas that may propogate to deeper instabilites.
- Avoid steep convexities or areas with a thin or variable snowpack.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
Use caution around thin to thick areas. Keep an eye out for surface hoar in isolated sheltered locations below treeline. A Dec weak layer exists in West facing alpine features and could be reactive to human traffic, wind loading and solar input.
- Avoid exposure to overhead avalanche terrain during periods of moderate to intense transport.
- Dig down to find and test weak layers before committing to a line.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 20th, 2021 4:00PM
