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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 11th, 2013–Jan 12th, 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

Little Yoho.

The new snow that fell over the week needs time to settle. The sunny skies may entice people to charge hard, but give it some time to stabilize. The sunny skies and possible inversion will heat up sunny, alpine slopes, causing avalanches. Heads up!

Weather Forecast

A high pressure ridge has plunked itself on top of the region, creating mainly clear skies and light to moderate winds from the NW. We don't expect any snow in the next few days, but an inversion may set up Saturday and Sunday, with temp's being up to 10 degrees warmer in the alpine than the valleys.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 50 cm of settled storm snow and mod SW winds created storm slabs that are sitting on a weak layer of surface hoar and faceted crystals. On steeper S aspects, sun crusts were buried. The winds died down at the end of the storm, so wind slabs formed during the storm may be hidden by innocent-looking powder. The mid-pack in most areas is strong.

Avalanche Summary

A widespread natural avalanche cycle occurred during the storm on Wednesday. Since then, natural activity has decreased. Given that there has been a significant new load of snow on a variety of weak surfaces, skier triggering is still possible. I'd recommend easing into terrain this weekend, watching for surface slabs.

Confidence

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.