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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 18th, 2024–Feb 19th, 2024

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

Although we have more snow in areas west of the divide, the deep persistent problem remains a layer of concern.

With low-likelihood/high-consequence avalanche problems, the best line of defense is conservative terrain selection.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Ski areas are reporting reactivity of the recent snow that sits on the early Febuary crust. Resulting in avalanches up to size 1.5.

Skiers triggered a size 2.5 slab on a S aspect at 3050 m on Mt Vaux on Thursday while boot-packing.

A size 2 and 2.5 skier-triggered deep persistent slab at 2750 m on a SE aspect in the Cirque Forepeak area occurred Tuesday.

The deeper layers can still be triggered in thin snowpack areas at high elevations.

Snowpack Summary

Suncrust on steep solar aspects. Isolated wind slabs in the alpine. 10-25 cm of facetted snow over the Feb 3 crust. The crust is found in most locations except above 2500 m on N aspects, and varies in thickness from 0.5-15 cm with a thicker crust in deeper snowpack areas and at lower elevations. Persistent weak facet layers remain present in the mid and bottom of the snowpack and have recently produced avalanches on the ground in rocky thin snowpack areas at higher elevations.

Weather Summary

A few clouds during the day on Monday, become mainly cloudy at night, making isolated flurries a possibility for most regions. Moderate to strong westerly ridgetop winds. Freezing levels near valley bottom, with the alpine high of -6 C during the day.

For more information be sure to check AvCan's Mountain Weather.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
  • Avoid rock outcroppings, convexities, and anywhere the snowpack is thin and/or variable.

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.