Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Apr 17th, 2022 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Cornices.
cgarritty,
Avalanche Canada
All bluster and no muster? Monday's forecast calls for the return of strong winds, but there probably isn't much transportable snow left to form new slabs. Keep an eye out for active wind transport to be certain.
Don't forget to check out the newest forecaster blog as you plan your spring objectives.
Summary
Confidence
Weather Forecast
SUNDAY NIGHT: Clear. Light east winds increasing into the morning.
MONDAY: Increasing cloud and flurries bringing a trace of new snow in the afternoon and continuing overnight. Moderate to strong east winds. Treeline high temperatures around -6.
TUESDAY: Mainly cloudy with diminishing flurries and about 5 total cm of new snow. Light east winds. Treeline high temperatures around -6.
WEDNESDAY: Cloud diminishing over the day with another trace to 5 cm of new snow from the overnight period. Light southeast winds. Treeline high temperatures around -4.
Avalanche Summary
One recent cornice fall that did manage to trigger a slab was reported from a flight over the Telkwa range on Friday. On Saturday a few small loose dry avalanches were observed in steep, solar, rocky terrain. Otherwise, no new avalanches have been reported in the past couple of days.
On Thursday, explosives triggered wind slabs up to size 2 on south-south east aspects. On Wednesday, glacial icefall (serac) triggered a large persistent slab avalanche (size 3). This avalanche occurred on o northeast aspect in the alpine and is suspected to have failed on a crust from early April. The triggering of this avalanche was only possible with an extremely large load and is not representative of the general conditions of the region as a whole.
Looking forward, avalanche activity is unlikely given the current cool, unsettled weather trend. However, always be ready for the possibility of pockets of wind slabs in steep alpine terrain, cornice failures, and wet loose avalanches if the sun is out.
Snowpack Summary
Open terrain has been wind-affected, with last week's wind event scouring southeast slopes and loading snow onto leeward areas. Sheltered areas may still have soft snow. A widespread melt-freeze crust can be found 20 to 50 cm deep in most areas, and up to 80 cm in the snowiest parts of the region. This crust is near the surface below 1200 m.
Terrain and Travel
- Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.
- Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
Problems
Cornices
Cornices are large this time of year and were likely weakened by recent cold temperatures. Exposure to cornices should be minimized, especially during periods of warm temperatures or strong sun. Give them a wide berth when you are travelling on ridge lines and avoid overhead exposure to large cornices.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Apr 18th, 2022 4:00PM
