Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 18th, 2023–Apr 19th, 2023

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

Regions

Glacier.

Despite reduced natural avalanche activity, human triggering continues to occur.

Limit your exposure while the new snow settles and bonds.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday a field team was able to easily trigger several small slab avalanches at the interface of Sunday's storm. A few small naturals were also observed in the backcountry.

On Monday a remotely triggered size 2 slab avalanche occurred at Balu pass.

Snowpack Summary

The recent 10cm of new snow is not well bonded to a previous surface crust found on all aspects except high true north. Below this the Apr 9 crust is down 20-40cm (BTL) and Mar 31 crust is down 40-60cm. Both remain reactive in tests.

The mid and lower snowpack are generally strong but the Nov 17 basal weakness can still be found 20-40cm off the ground.

Weather Summary

Calm weather with isolated flurries later in the week and mainly cloudy skies.

Wed: Cloudy no precipitation, Alp high -5 °C, light northwest winds, FZL 1800m

Thurs: Cloudy w/ isolated flurries, Alp high -5 °C, light southwest winds, FZL 1800m

Fri: Cloudy w/ isolated flurries, Alp high -3 °C, light southwest winds, FZL 1900m

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
  • Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks or recent avalanches.
  • Avoid terrain traps such as gullies and cliffs where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.

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.

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.