Avalanche forecast

South Rockies

Jan 29, 2019Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 8 years ago

Avalanche danger

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

Wind slabs are likely to be encountered at upper elevations and may be reactive to human triggering, especially in lee features.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5
    Previous variable wind directions may mean that wind slabs formed on all aspects throughout the region. They will likely be most reactive where they sit on a surface hoar layer (sheltered locations).

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–3
    The bottom of the snowpack consists of weak facets and depth hoar (sugary snow). Triggering this layer is becoming less likely, but the consequences remain high as avalanches on this layer will be very large and destructive.

Confidence

Moderate - The weather pattern is stable

Weather Forecast

MONDAY  NIGHT - Cloudy with clear periods / northwest winds, 10-20 km/h / alpine low temperature near -10TUESDAY - Mainly sunny with cloudy periods / southwest winds 10-30 km/h / alpine high temperature near -6WEDNESDAY - A mix of sun and cloud  / southwest winds 10-20 km/h / alpine high temperature near -7 THURSDAY - Cloudy with sunny periods / southwest winds, 20-30 km/h / alpine high temperature near -5

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported on Saturday or Sunday.

Snowpack Summary

10-15 cm of cold smoke arrived by surprise on Sunday night! 10-30 cm of recent snow overlies a weak layer of sun crusts on south facing slopes, and surface hoar (feathery crystals) in sheltered areas. Previous strong winds had formed wind slabs over this interface. These are likely to be susceptible to human triggers, and they may be difficult to see now with the new snow on top of them.Large variability in snow depths still exists in the region, ranging from almost no snow to nearly 200 cm in some areas. For average snowpack areas, expect to find weak and sugary faceted snow around 50 to 100 cm deep, which extend to the ground. This weak bottom half of the snowpack was the culprit in several large avalanches in the region in the past few weeks.

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