Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 27th, 2014 8:12AM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Deep Persistent Slabs.
rbuhler,
Avalanche Canada
'Low Hazard' does not mean 'No Hazard' and isolated avalanches may still be possible. Check out this blog post for further discussion.
Summary
Confidence
Good
Weather Forecast
The ridge of high pressure begins to weaken on Tuesday and will break down on Wednesday. Light precipitation is expected for Wednesday and Thursday.Tuesday: A mix of sun and cloud, dry conditions, treeline temperatures around -10C, light SW winds at treelineWednesday: Cloudy, snowfall 3-5cm, treeline temperatures around -8C, light SW winds at treelineThursday: Cloudy, snowfall 4-6cm, treeline temperatures around -10C, light NW winds at treeline
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported since the solar activity on Friday and Saturday.
Snowpack Summary
The recent dry, warm weather has generally consolidated the upper snowpack. As temperatures now begin to cool, stability in the upper snowpack should increase further. Keep in mind that 'Low Hazard' does not mean 'No Hazard' and that residual risk of avalanches still exists. Old, stubborn wind slabs may still exist in isolated areas. A basal facet/crust combo (weak sugary snow above and below a crust) near the ground is still a concern in some areas. The depth of this layer makes triggering an avalanche on it unlikely (maybe a heavy load on a thin spot in steep terrain, rapid temperature change, or cornice fall), but the consequences would be large and very destructive.Large surface hoar is reported to have formed in sheltered areas at all elevations with the exception of open south-facing slopes where the sun has caused melting and formed a sun crust.
Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
A crust/facet weakness near the base of the snowpack continues to linger but is typically unreactive to triggering. This remains a low probability, high consequence problem for some areas of the region.
Be aware of the potential for full depth avalanches due to deeply buried weak layers.>Caution around convexities or areas with a thin or variable snowpack.>Conditions have improved, but be mindful that deep instabilities are still present.>
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 28th, 2014 2:00PM
