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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 12th, 2013–Jan 13th, 2013

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

Glacier.

A highly variable weak layer was buried recently from the last storm.. it is still time to move carefully into bigger terrain.

Weather Forecast

A ridge of high pressure continues to bring cold and dry conditions with a northwest flow. Expect a high of -15 in the alpine today and light NW ridge top winds.

Snowpack Summary

70cm of storm snow overlies a weak layer of buried surface hoar. The surface hoar sits on a crust which is best developed on steep S/SW slopes. The surface hoar grew largest in sheltered areas (1500 to 1700m). This layer is more prominent on the eastern side of the park. This layer will be most reactive on the specific terrain described above.

Avalanche Summary

Yesterday along the highway corridor we did not observe any new natural avalanches. Avalanche control on Wednesday triggered numerous avalanches, mainly size 2-2.5. These avalanches primarily involved storm snow. Few backcountry observations suggest a large natural cycle occurred during the storm.

Confidence

Due to the number of field observations

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.