Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 22nd, 2022 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
Garth Lemke,
Decent tree skiing can be found at Bald hills. Watch for spooky hollow sounding wind slabs as indications of potential unstable conditions.
Summary
Weather Forecast
Sunday will be clouds and sun, -6C, light to moderate West winds, and valley bottom freezing level. Expect Monday to be similar with -9 to -6C and light winds. Tuesday could have flurries, -13 to -7C, and light winds. Wednesday will be sun with clouds and -14C.
Snowpack Summary
Treeline and below, the top 30-50cm is low to medium hardness. Above Treeline a pencil windslab is the top 30cm layer. The mid-pack is medium to hard stiffness of mixed crystal forms. The bottom 30cm is relatively dense facets with DH right at ground. The snowpack appears to be bridging previous weak layers yet expect spatial variability.
Avalanche Summary
Saturday's Icefield's patrol noted one size 2 to the South of Churchill slide path on a West aspect. It initiated mid-path and ran to the bottom. Surface snowballing also occurred at low roadside paths. Maligne observed on size 2.5, persistent slab, 200m wide and 1m deep initiated by a cornice failure. Visibility was excellent in both areas.
Confidence
Due to the number and quality of field observations on Saturday
Problems
Wind Slabs
Main concern is where wind slab has built over weak faceted snow. Watch for a hollow sounding snowpack.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
- Dig down to find and test weak layers before committing to a line.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
The slab problem overlies different layers depending on elevation and aspect. Below 1950m, a faceting rain crust is roughly 40-60cm down. Above 1950m, a buried surface facet layer down 20-30cm is the primary concern.
- Dig down to find and test weak layers before committing to a line.
- Avoid shallow snowpack areas where triggering is more likely.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 23rd, 2022 4:00PM
