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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 5th, 2019–Dec 6th, 2019

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

Glacier.

The new snow remains reactive to skiers and riders and will require time to stabilize. Watch for slab formation as you approach treeline.

Weather Forecast

A high pressure system will briefly replace the falling snow today. Expect a mix of sun and cloud with an alpine high of -7 and light SW winds with gusts to 30km/hr. A cold front arrives tonight bringing strong SW winds and 13cm of new snow. Snowfall continues with 17cm Friday and 16cm Saturday. By sunday, cold and clear weather will take hold.

Snowpack Summary

Approximately 70cm of snow has fallen since December 2. The new snow is poorly bonded to buried layers. During the peak of the storm, strong winds formed touchy slabs on lee features in the alpine. The November 23rd surface hoar/crust layer is buried 60-80cm.

Avalanche Summary

Natural avalanche activity continued yesterday with help from ongoing the storm conditions. Numerous large natural avalanches to size 3.0 were observed in the highway corridor, with many reaching the end of their paths. Artillery avalanche control in the highway corridor produced large avalanches with nearly every shot.

Confidence

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.