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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 11th, 2021–Apr 12th, 2021

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

Excellent April ski conditions continue! Still a few things to watch for in the snowpack since cooler temperatures have limited the transition to a true spring snowpack at higher elevations. Keep watching for anomalies and enjoy the great week ahead.

Weather Forecast

Light easterly winds will develop Monday with mainly cloudy skies, a few flurries and continued cool temperatures through the day. Only a couple cm's of new snow is expected. Treeline temperatures should stay around -5 to -8 C. A clearing trend with more daytime warming is expected to start on Tuesday.

Snowpack Summary

15 to 30 cm of storm snow at treeline with more at higher elevations. Buried crusts up to 1800m on all aspects and to ridge crest on solar aspects. Small wind slabs in alpine lee areas. Several persistent layers exist in the mid to lower snowpack that can be a concern in thin areas, with significant warming or with larger triggers like cornices.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed on Sunday. Evidence of previous loose dry avalanches in steep alpine terrain with a few cornice failures occasionally pulling slabs in steep alpine features during the recent storm. A couple avalanches were also observed in the past few days with storm snow on a crust so this is worth monitoring.

Confidence

Due to the number and quality of field observations

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.