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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 6th, 2014–Feb 7th, 2014

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.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

South Columbia.

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Confidence

Fair - Wind effect is extremely variable

Weather Forecast

Tonight and Friday: The ridge bringing cold and dry conditions is still present but is weakening. Expect clear skies, light to moderate NE winds and temperatures around -14 C.Saturday and Sunday: Expect very similar conditions for Saturday with a bit more clouds on Sunday.

Avalanche Summary

There has been multiple skier triggered size 1 avalanches reported yesterday. These would have initiated in windslabs on lee features mostly in the alpine.

Snowpack Summary

Snow totals from a week ago ranged from 5-20 cm with the greatest accumulations in the south of the region. This snow is faceting quickly in the cold temps. In wind exposed terrain, especially in the alpine, winds continue to form shallow wind slabs that have recently been very easy to trigger by skiers. These variable wind slabs should stick around a bit longer than we're accustomed to as they are resting on a weak layer composed of large grained surface hoar (widespread in most sheltered and shaded areas at all elevations), a sun crust on open south facing slopes, faceted grains (in colder areas or areas with a thinner snowpack), or a combination of the above. Most of the snowpack is generally well consolidated. However, in thinner snowpack areas a facet/crust weakness and basal facets exist near or at the bottom of the snowpack. The depth of these layer makes human triggering unlikely, but the consequences of doing so could be disastrous.

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.