Lawinenlagebericht

North Columbia

Feb 11, 2019Avalanche Canada
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Archiviert · abgelaufen 8 years ago

Lawinengefahr

Tue
Wed
Hochgebirge
3 · Erheblich
Waldgrenze
3 · Erheblich
Unterhalb
3 · Erheblich
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Kernpunkte

Dangerous avalanche conditions persist in the North Columbia. This continues to be the most active region in British Columbia for persistent slab avalanches. Seek out simple terrain and low consequence slopes.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Wind Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible - Likely
    Größe
    1–2
    30-80 cm of old storm snow continues to be redistributed by arctic wind out of the north and east. Wind slabs forming at treeline have the potential to step down to the buried surface hoar resulting in large avalanches.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1.5–2.5
    50-100 cm of snow sits above a weak layer of surface hoar (feathery crystals) and crust. This layer continues to be reactive to human triggers. The trees are not a safe haven right now, in fact treeline may be the most dangerous elevation band.

Snowpack Summary

30-80 cm of recent new snow sits on surface hoar (feathery crystals), facets (sugary snow), wind slabs and a crust on sun-exposed slopes. In many areas, recent winds have redistributed the new snow, forming wind slabs on all aspects due to shifting wind directions.The most notable feature in the snowpack at this time is a persistent weak layer that was buried in mid January, which is now buried 50-100 cm. This layer consists primarily of surface hoar, however there is also a crust associated with it on sun-exposed slopes. This layer is the most prominent at treeline and below, and continues to produce large avalanches.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Sunday night: Cloudy with clear periods. Light southwest winds. Monday: A mix of sun and cloud. Light southwest winds. Alpine high temperatures around -19.Tuesday: Cloudy with sunny periods. Light southeast winds, shifting to southwest in the alpine. Alpine high temperatures around -15.Wednesday: Cloudy with sunny periods. Light northeast winds. Alpine high temperatures around -11.

Avalanche Summary

A snowmobiler was fatally involved in a large (size 2) slab avalanche on Saturday in the Oventop Creek area in the Bone Creek drainage. The avalanche was triggered by the rider at 2100 metres on a south aspect. The crown fracture was 15-100 cm deep, suggesting wind loading was a factor in the incident. The avalanche measured 40 metres wide and ran 300 metres.On Friday a natural size 2 wind slab avalanche was observed on an east facing aspect near 3000 m. Strong to extreme wind Friday night into Saturday may have initiated a natural wind slab avalanche cycle. The North Columbias are the hotspot for human triggered persistent slab avalanches as a weak layer that was buried in mid January continues to be sensitive to human triggers. This layer is touchy enough for avalanches to be triggered remotely (from a distance). Skier and snowmobile triggered avalanches from size 1.5-2.5 have been reported on all aspects at and below treeline almost every day for the last two weeks. The bulk of this activity is occurring below 1900 m. This MIN report from Monday does a great job of illustrating the sensitivity of this weak layer.

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