Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Mar 9th, 2022 3:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
JMackenzie,
Avalanche Canada
The wind came along and wrecked the party. Fresh and reactive wind slabs are found at upper elevations, and the buried crust now has a more significant load over top. Time to dial back the objectives and take a more conservative approach.
Summary
Confidence
Weather Forecast
Thursday will be a mix of sun cloud with a cold start (near -25) that will warm to -10 by midday. The March sun will pack a punch on solar aspects. Winds will be moderate to strong from the NW. No snowfall is expected.
Friday and Saturday are both calling for light flurries.
Avalanche Summary
One size 2.0 naturally triggered loose dry occurred on a very steep east aspect in the Alpine. With the continued wind loading, natural slab avalanches are expected in Alpine terrain, but so far no observations of this.
Our neighbours in Kootenay reported a size 3.5 skier accidental slab avalanche on Tuesday. This slide occurred on the buried sun crust.
Snowpack Summary
Unfortunately the winds were moderate on Wednesday from a variety of directions. This has created reactive wind slabs on all aspects in the Alpine. These fresh wind slabs could step down to the Feb 19 interface (sun crust or hard slab) buried 40 to 60cm which could result in larger avalanches. Solar aspects have numerous vintages of sun crust interspersed with soft snow, which is making travel on these aspects less than ideal.
Terrain and Travel
- Be aware of highly variable recent wind loading patterns.
- Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and wind exposure.
- Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
- Minimize exposure to sun-exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind speeds picked up more than expected on Wednesday and there are now widespread wind slab conditions in Alpine terrain on all aspects.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
Carefully evaluate the bond with the Feb 19th crust down 40 to 60cm. Recent wind loading will make this problem more reactive, as will periods of intense solar input.
Aspects: South East, South, South West, West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Mar 10th, 2022 3:00PM
