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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 19th, 2024–Feb 20th, 2024

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

Regions

Yukon, Tutshi, Wheaton, White Pass East, White Pass West.

Use caution around wind loaded pockets near ridgecrest. Old wind slabs formed over faceted snow or more isolated surface hoar could still be sensitive to human triggers.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported, but a large (size 2) natural slab avalanche was reported on Thursday in the alpine. Click on the picture for full details.

Given its solitary appearance amid widespread recent traffic in the White Pass area, this is the kind of avalanche that suggests a quite isolated problem, but one that could be triggered by the weight of a person or machine in a suspect location.

Snowpack Summary

Variable conditions exist at all elevations, including crusty and wind-affected snow. Soft snow and good riding can still be found in sheltered north-facing terrain. New surface hoar has formed at treeline.

An older layer of surface hoar may be found down 20 - 60 cm in isolated north-facing terrain features. Check out the field team's MIN from Thursday for more.

A thick melt-freeze crust is buried 50 - 100 cm and exists below 1500 m.

Weather Summary

Monday night

Cloudy with isolated flurries. 30 km/h southwest alpine wind. Treeline temperatures near -3 °C.

Tuesday

Cloudy with scattered flurries bringing 1 - 2 cm of new snow, continuing overnight. 30 - 40 km/h southwest alpine wind, increasing. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with scattered flurries bringing 1 - 4 cm of new snow, continuing overnight. 50 km/h southwest alpine wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

Thursday

Cloudy with scattered flurries bringing 1 - 2 cm of new snow and 3-day snow totals of up to 15 cm. 55 - 70 km/h southwest alpine wind, increasing.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
  • Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.

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.