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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 21st, 2022–Mar 22nd, 2022

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

Regions

Glacier.

Rising freezing level, potentially up to 2000m could increase avalanche activity at lower elevations on Tuesday. Pay attention to changing snow conditions.

Quality snow is preserved on northerly-facing slopes.

Weather Forecast

Is the season over!?! Many of the parking spots have been left empty, even as the snow continues to fall, delivering amazing conditions.

Tuesday will be mainly cloudy with isolated flurries with continued 20-30km/hr South West winds. The freezing level may rise up to 2000m as a warm front passes through the region. 10-15cm of snow on Wednesday.

Snowpack Summary

10-25cm of new snow over the last few days accompanied by moderate SW winds has likely built pockets of wind slab in the alpine. The Mar 11 sun crust is buried 50-70cm . On shaded aspects, spotty small surface hoar may be buried down ~70cm (March 7), down 90cm (Feb 26), and >1m (Feb 15). The mid to lower snowpack is settled and strong.

Avalanche Summary

On Sunday, several slab avalanches up to size 2.5 were observed from steep terrain along the highway corridor, likely being triggered by the strong South winds.

The freezing level is forecasted to rise up to 1800-2000m over the next few days which could increase avalanche activity at lower elevations.

Confidence

Freezing levels are uncertain on Tuesday

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.