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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 6th, 2016–Feb 7th, 2016

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

Touchy windslabs are common in the alpine and at treeline. Avoid avalanche terrain for a while.

Weather Forecast

15 to 20 cm fell last night. Winds over 100km/hr continue at the time of writing but are expected to begin to taper. There is an initial trend to cooler weather as the cold front finishes passing and then a few days of warm and dry weather. It is expected that the avalanche hazard will remain considerable for a while.

Snowpack Summary

Wind slabs are forming in the alpine and at tree line that are easy to trigger. The Jan 6 surface hoar/facet/sun crust layer, down 30-100cm, is becoming less reactive to skier triggering, however sudden collapse results persist on the Jan 6 and Dec 3 layers. Isolated whumphing on mid-pack facets/surface hoar have been observed this past week.

Avalanche Summary

Poor visibility has limited avalanche observations today. The Forecast avalanche cycle is expected to continue as the wind moves around to the NW and begins to calm tonight.

Confidence

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.