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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 6th, 2015–Apr 7th, 2015

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

Regions

Kootenay Boundary.

Snowpack and avalanche observations are becoming scarce. If you've been in the backcountry, please tell us what you've seen here on the Mountain Information Network.

Confidence

Fair - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain

Weather Forecast

A ridge of high pressure moves over the interior on Tuesday and should be the dominant feature for the rest of the week. On Tuesday, a mix of sun and cloud is expected with light alpine winds and freezing levels reaching around 1800m in the afternoon. Isolated convective flurries are possible. Mostly sunny conditions with light alpine winds are expected for Wednesday and Thursday. Freezing levels are expected to reach around 2000m on Wednesday and 2200m on Thursday.

Avalanche Summary

Observations are becoming more limited as we enter spring. If you're out in the mountains, please consider posting your observations to our webpage. On Sunday, natural and human-triggered wet sluffing was reported. This was limited to size 1 and was sliding on the late-March crust layer. On Saturday, explosives triggered small wind slabs and thin storm slabs that ran on the crust. With freezing levels rising and lots of sun expected on Tuesday, lots of natural sluffing is expected from steep sun-exposed slopes. Cornices will become weaker than they have been for the last week and may fail naturally. Wind slabs in the alpine are expected to be sensitive to human-triggering. Reverse loading may have occurred and wind slabs should be expected in leeward features on all aspects.

Snowpack Summary

Melt-freeze surface conditions exist on sun-exposed slopes. On shaded slopes, 10-20cm of recent snow overlies a thick supportive melt-freeze crust. At higher elevations these accumulations have been blown around by variable winds and thin wind slabs may exist on a variety of aspects. The mid-March crust/facet complex is buried around 50cm below the surface. This layer is generally considered dormant while the cooler temperatures prevail. The mid and lower snowpack are strong and well settled.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.