Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 11th, 2022 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs.
bchristie,
Avalanche Canada
Choose simple terrain that is sheltered from the wind, and watch for signs of instability. At lower elevations, the new snow is falling on a hard, slippery crust. Avalanches and humans could slide farther than expected.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate - We are confident the likelihood of avalanche will increase with the arrival of the forecast weather. Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.
Weather Forecast
Stormy conditions Friday night and through the day Saturday. Expect the higher snowfall amounts shown below to hold true for the areas closest to White Pass.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. 5-15 cm of snow expected. Extreme southwest winds trending to south by the morning. Alpine temperatures around -7 °C.
SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy. 5-15 cm of snow expected. Extreme southwest wind becoming strong by the afternoon. Freezing level rising to around 750 m. Alpine temperatures around -5 °C.
SUNDAY: Partly cloudy. Possible trace of snow expected. Light west wind, trending to moderate northwest at higher elevations. Freezing level falls to valley bottom. Alpine high around -7 °C.
MONDAY: Mostly sunny. Possible trace of snow expected. Light northwest wind trending to strong at higher elevations. Alpine high around -10 °C.
Avalanche Summary
WIth new snow and wind Friday night and through the day Saturday, we expect rider triggered windslab avalanches to be likely in terrain exposed to the wind.
No new avalanches were reported before 4 pm on Friday.
On Thursday, explosives avalanche control between Carcross and Fraser produced a couple of size 2 windslab avalanches. These avalanches were on east and southeast aspects just above treeline.
Snowpack Summary
10-30 cm of new snow has likely been formed into windslabs by southwest winds. In more exposed terrain, where wind speeds could reach 80 km/h, the new snow could be scoured away, or transported further downslope on leeward terrain.
The new snow overlies a breakable crust up to 1200m, and a variety of wind affected surfaces above 1200m.
The mid snowpack is generally dense and strong.
In shallow snowpack areas, a layer of loose facets can be found at the bottom of the snowpack.Â
Terrain and Travel
- Avoid all avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow and wind.
- Fresh wind slabs will likely form throughout the day, diligently watch for changing conditions.
- Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
- Dial back your terrain choices if you are seeing more than 20 cm of new snow.
- Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
Problems
Wind Slabs
10-30 cm of new snow has likely been formed into windslabs by strong southwest winds.
Expect these slabs to be reactive to the weight of a rider, especially where they are sitting on top of a crust. (below 1200 m)
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Feb 12th, 2022 4:00PM
