Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 15th, 2015–Dec 16th, 2015

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Little Yoho.

Pay attention to the potential for well preserved buried surface hoar below treeline. Easy shears have been found on this interface.

Weather Forecast

A ridge of high pressure will persist through to Friday. Expect to see clearing skies, light NW winds, and cool temperatures. There should be little change to the danger rating or ski conditions over the next couple of days.

Snowpack Summary

In sheltered terrain between 1500m and 1850m, a 40-50cm soft slab sits over the large December 3rd surface hoar. This layer continues to produce whumphs and easy shears where it is present. No other significant shears have been observed. In the high alpine small, isolated wind slabs may exist in some areas.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed in past 48 hours

Confidence

Problems

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.