Avalanche forecast

Cariboos

Jan 18 – 19, 2012Avalanche Canada
View on map
Archived · expired 15 years ago

Avalanche danger

Fri
Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
Open full map

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    2–4
    Be suspicious of any slope with recent deposits of wind drifted snow. If you can't identify & avoid wind affected snow, stick to simple terrain below treeline.

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–5
    Cornices are massive in many locations, stay well back from ridge crests and plan your travels so that you minimize exposure to these large unsupported masses of snow. Falling cornices have the potential to trigger large destructive avalanches.

Confidence

Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain

Weather Forecast

Thursday will mirror Wednesday: another cold & dry day with a H of -16 & a L of -29 at 1500m under clear skies.Things change Friday as low pressure once again becomes part of the picture. The current wx calls for 5 - 10 cm on Friday under SW flow. Another 10 cm is forecast for Saturday too.Things quiet down during the day Sunday before ramping back up Sunday evening as another system makes landfall bringing 5 -10 cm Sunday night & 5 - 10 cm Monday morning.

Avalanche Summary

No significant avalanche activity has been reported from the region recently.

Snowpack Summary

The weekend storm delivered 20 - 40 cm of snow to the region which fell on the January 13th facet/surface hoar layer. The snowpack has settled now and been affected by wind in some locations which has led to a wind slab problem. The wind slab is quite variable in the region. Some areas report widespread wind effect while others have seen nary a breath of wind. Where the wind has blown, there is likely to be a slab avalanche problem that is capable of producing avalanches to size 2.

Regions covered