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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 14th, 2012–Nov 15th, 2012

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.

Regions

Little Yoho.

Little change until Saturday.  Decent skiing in sheltered alpine and treeline features where the crust carries. SH

Weather Forecast

Light to moderate W winds Thursday and Friday with freezing levels to 1500m during the day and little to no precip. Strong to extreme SW winds on Saturday with the possibility of some snow.  We could see a spike in hazard through Saturday.

Snowpack Summary

25-35cm of recent storm snow overtop of Nov. 6 crust, which can be found to 2500m and disappears around 2700m. The Sunshine ski area plot (2100m) showed laminated crusts down 30cm(Nov.6) to 45cm.  Resistant planar compression results on Nov.6.

Avalanche Summary

No new natural avalanches observed today from field trips in the Sunshine back country and road patrols throughout Yoho and Kootenay.

Confidence

on Thursday

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

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.