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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 24th, 2018–Apr 25th, 2018

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

Regions

Glacier.

Weather Forecast

A temperature inversion overnight has left alpine temps above zero, whereas valley bottom went below zero and got a decent refreeze. Today will be sunny with an alpine high of +5 as the freezing level rises to 3000m. Winds will be 20-35km/hr from the Southwest. Friday will see freezing levels rise to 3700m and will not drop until Sunday night

Snowpack Summary

Melt freeze crust on all aspects up to ~2200m and higher on solar aspects. Expect these crusts to break down quickly with warming. Wind slabs in the alpine still persist from this past weekends snow and moderate Southerly winds. Cornices are large and will weaken with the rising temperatures. Dry snow exists on Northerly aspects at high elevations.

Avalanche Summary

Mounds avalanche path released naturally overnight on the April 22 and ran size 3.5, stopping 150m short of the highway. Several other natural loose wet avalanches up to size 3.0 released yesterday.Cheops North 1 ran size 2.5 on Sunday and it's possible that this slide was human triggered as skiers were in the area. Start early, finish early!!!

Confidence

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

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.