Avalanche forecast

Lizard-Flathead

Jan 5, 2017Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 10 years ago

Avalanche danger

Thu
Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Be cautious near shallow rocky areas, where a small slab could trigger buried weak layers resulting in large avalanches.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Variable northerly winds may redistribute the new snow into reactive wind slabs in exposed lee terrain. In shallow snowpack areas, these slabs could pull out to deeper layers below, increasing the size of an avalanche.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–3
    Where denser snow overlies weak, sugary snow, there is the potential to trigger large, dangerous avalanches. Dig down and test for weak layers before committing to any steep slope.

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

The arctic outbreak continues with cold temperatures and no snow until Sunday at the earliest.THURSDAY: A mix of sun and cloud. Wind light southwest 15-25 Km/h. Temperatures between -16and -28 Celcius. No precipitation.FRIDAY: Sunny with cloudy periods. Wind becoming southwesterly 15-25 Km/h. Temperatures between -16 and -28 Celcius. No precipitation.SATURDAY: Increasing clouds late in the day with a chance of flurries. Winds light southerly 5-10 Km/h. Temperatures between -12 and -24 Celcius.

Avalanche Summary

No new observations.

Snowpack Summary

The snow from last week is showing signs of consolidating into soft slabs and sits on a variety of wind-affected surfaces at treeline and in the alpine. That said, the main concern is windslabs (and some cornices) forming in the alpine due to the recent arctic outbreak winds. Deeper in the snowpack the mid-December persistent layer (facet interface) has been more prominent and reactive in the Corbin zone than closer to Fernie: Watch out for thinner snow packs and areas of crossloading in isolated areas (think shallow rocky areas) where an avalanche could step down to trigger deeper layers.

Regions covered