Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Apr 18th, 2022 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Cornices.
cgarritty,
Avalanche Canada
Recent elevated winds probably didn't have enough loose snow available to form much of a wind slab problem. Triggering an avalanche remains unlikely.
Summary
Confidence
Weather Forecast
MONDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with isolated flurries and a trace of new snow. Moderate east winds.
TUESDAY: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries and a trace of new snow. Moderate east winds, easing to light over the day. Treeline high temperatures around -8.
WEDNESDAY: Mainly cloudy. Light south winds. Treeline high temperatures around -9.
THURSDAY: A mix of sun and cloud. Light variable winds. Treeline high temperatures around -8.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported over the past few days on the Canadian side of White Pass. Things have been different on the US side with at least one very large natural avalanche as well as some ice falls leaving ice chunks and 4-5m debris piles on the rail line in the afternoon on Saturday and Sunday.
A size 3 cornice-triggered slab avalanche was observed near White Pass last Tuesday. This avalanche occurred on an east aspect in the alpine.
Several small human-triggered wind slabs (size 1) were reported during the outflow wind event on Monday and Tuesday.
Looking forward, forecast strong winds aren't expected to have sufficient transportable snow to create even a small wind slab problem.
Snowpack Summary
Very light new snow amounts have been accumulating over mainly hard, wind affected surfaces from recent strong northerly winds. Recent elevated winds didn't have much loose snow available to transport into new wind slabs.
On south and west facing slopes up to 1400 m a surface crust from spring sunshine can be found, while other aspects hold dry snow. The mid-snowpack is generally strong, overlying weak basal facets at the base of the snowpack.
Check out this MIN report for an overview of current conditions in the Fraser area.
Terrain and Travel
- Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.
Problems
Cornices
Cornices may be weak and reactive to human triggers. They are a significant hazard alone, and may produce large slab avalanches as they fall onto the slope below. Cornice falls are more likely as temperatures warm each day, or when strong sunshine is present.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Apr 19th, 2022 4:00PM
