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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 29th, 2022–Jan 30th, 2022

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

Regions

Northwest Coastal.

Use extra caution in wind effected terrain. New wind slab has formed over a variety of surfaces that it will likely not bond well to.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Saturday night: some light flurries with moderate southwest winds. Low of -3 at 900m.

Sunday: some light flurries with light winds. High of -3 at 900m.

Monday: light flurries ending in the afternoon. moderate west winds with a high of -3 at 900m.

Tuesday: some light flurries with a high of -5 at 900m. Winds in the morning will be light north and then shifting to east.

Avalanche Summary

On Friday a very large (size 3) wind slab was triggered by a natural cornice fall. This avalanche was on a north east aspect at 1700m.

Snowpack Summary

up to 15cm of recent storm snow overlies a variety of surfaces including surface hoar, facets, old wind slab and a crust. A melt freeze crust caps most of the terrain at or below treeline as well as south facing terrain in the alpine. Surface hoar can be found in isolated sheltered features at treeline.

The January 19th surface hoar layer can still be found down 30 to 50 at treeline and above in sheltered terrain. Recent reports indicate that it is becoming less of a concern. 

Terrain and Travel

  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.

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.