Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 19th, 2023–Apr 20th, 2023

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.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Glacier.

The hazard may be locally elevated if more snow falls than forecast.

Assess the bond of new snow before increasing your exposure, human triggering remains possible.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday a field team was able to easily trigger several small slab avalanches at the interface of Sunday's storm.

On Monday a remotely triggered size 2 slab avalanche occurred at Balu pass.

Minimal natural avalanche activity in recent days.

Snowpack Summary

12cm of new snow sits over a crust on all aspects except high due north which still hold dry snow. Below this the Apr 9 crust is down 20-40cm (BTL) and Mar 31 crust is down 40-60cm. Both remain reactive in tests.

The mid and lower snowpack are generally strong but the Nov 17 basal weakness can still be found 20-40cm off the ground.

Weather Summary

A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries continues through to the weekend.

Tonight: Cloudy w/ flurries 5cm, Alp low -7 °C, light winds, FZL 1000m

Thurs: Cloudy w/ sunny periods flurries, Alp high -3 °C, light southwest winds, FZL 1900m

Fri: Sun/cloud, isolated flurries, Alp high -4 °C, light west winds, FZL 1900m

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks or recent avalanches.
  • Keep in mind the crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.
  • Avoid terrain traps such as gullies and cliffs where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.