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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 9th, 2020–Feb 10th, 2020

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

New wind slabs and a continued concern for occasional avalanches on the deep persistent layer, especially in thin snow pack areas, means there is still a lot of uncertainty with the snowpack. Enjoy the new snow in lower consequence, sheltered areas!

Weather Forecast

Clearing skies, cool temperatures and light winds are forecast on Monday with treeline temperatures in the -14 to -16 C range for much of the day. Tuesday the winds increase to strong again and light flurries are forecast with accumulations in the 5-10 cm range.

Snowpack Summary

15-20 cm of snow in the past several days. Strong winds on Sunday created fresh wind slabs at treeline and in the alpine. In thin snowpack areas a dense mid pack sits over basal weak layers of facets and depth hoar. Deep snowpack areas (>150 cm) have a dense base with few weaknesses. A buried rain crust from February 1st is present up to 1850 m.

Avalanche Summary

Ski cutting and explosive work at the ski hills on Sunday produced a few small wind slabs avalanches and cornice failures. No new natural avalanches observed or reported. Continued sporadic natural, skier and explosive triggered avalanches up to size 3 on the deep persistent facets and depth hoar have occurred in the past week.

Confidence

Intensity of incoming weather systems is 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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.