Avalanche Forecast
Cariboos
Where there is uncertainty in the snowpack, conservative terrain is the answer.
Check out today's Forecaster's blog for tips on managing the spatial variability associated with our current persistent slab problem. LINK
Avalanche Problem 1: Wind Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Be aware of areas that have been reverse loaded by winds
- Use ridges or ribs to avoid pockets of wind loaded snow.
Avalanche Problem 2: Persistent Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Reactivity at the buried December 15 interface will likely be greater where the new snow has settled into a cohesive slab above buried surface hoar. Use extra caution in wind affected areas and around steeper, sheltered slopes at treeline and below.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Buried surface hoar may be preserved on open slopes and convex rolls at and below tree line
- Watch for whumpfing, shooting cracks, or signs of recent natural avalanches.
Avalanche Summary
Touchy conditions were reported from the North Thompson area of the Cariboos on Wednesday, where steep banks in lower elevation cutblocks were observed releasing very easily with sled traffic. In the adjacent North Monashees, natural wind slab and storm slab releases were reported up to Size 2.5.
Human-triggered slab avalanche potential can be expected to persist as our recent snow consolidates into a slab above the range of weak surfaces present at the December 15 interface. Please submit your observations to the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
Snowpack Summary
Stormy weather over the past week has brought 20-40cm of new snow to the region. The new snow lies over a wide variety of old surfaces, including large surface hoar (weak, feather-like crystals), hard crusts formed by sun or wind, and sugary facets. The bond at this old snow interface becomes critical as the overlying snow gradually consolidates into a slab. The most concerning areas areas will be those that have seen previous surface hoar development, such as sheltered areas at and below tree line and sheltered northerly aspects in the alpine. Additionally, any steep solar aspects where surface hoar may be sitting on sun crust should be considered areas where this weak layer may be more likely to trigger.
A crust which was formed by rain in late November is a major feature in the snowpack and is down approximately 70-100cm at tree line elevations. Snowpack tests suggest the snow above is currently bonding well to it.
Snowpack depth decreases rapidly below tree line. Look out for early season hazards such as rocks, stumps, and open creeks.
Weather Forecast
Saturday: A mix of sun and cloud. Moderate northwest winds. Alpine temperatures of -15.
Sunday: Mainly sunny. Light north winds. Alpine temperatures of -14.
Monday: A mix of sun and cloud with cloud increasing in the afternoon. Light northwest winds. Alpine temperatures around -16.
Avalanche Forecasts in your Inbox
Avalanche Canada has switched to an RSS feed for its daily forecasts. This is a much more flexible method that allows automatic delivery to your email inbox, or to an RSS reader of your choice.
What are RSS feeds?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a popular standardized file format allowing up-to-date delivery of web-based content. RSS feeds enable you to receive content updates from websites, delivered to your email through an RSS aggregator (such as blogtrottr.com) or viewed through applications called RSS readers (such as feedly.com).
Set up an RSS feed for your email:
Select a RSS aggregator
- Cariboos URL:
http://www.avalanche.ca/api/forecasts/cariboos.rss - Copy the url and paste it into the appropriate field of your RSS aggregator.
- Fill in your email address.
- Voila! Watch the Avalanche Canada forecast roll into your inbox.
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Shifting winds since the storm have been redistributing new snow into wind slabs on a variety of aspects. The most recent of these are the result of Friday's north to northeast winds. Keep this reverse loading pattern in mind as you gain elevation.