Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 16th, 2014–Apr 17th, 2014

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Glacier.

Have a look at our Facebook site for details on avalanche forecasting for the spring conditions.

Weather Forecast

Unsettled conditions will bring light precipitation to the region today. Freezing levels should rise to 1400-1600m in the afternoon, and winds will be light to moderate westerlies. Thursday will see a more organized system come through, bringing moderate precipitation.

Snowpack Summary

A moderate freeze overnight will have tightened up the upper crusts. A dusting of new snow has softened the crust, but it should remain supportive for the morning, unless we see significant sunshine. The snowpack on solar aspects is warming to near isothermal levels, but it stills awaits a dramatic warming to lose its structural integrity.

Avalanche Summary

No new activity was observed yesterday in the highway corridor, nor in the Fidelity backcountry.

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.

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.