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

Mar 14th, 2016–Mar 15th, 2016

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

We're doing avalanche control on Tuesday on Mt. Bosworth, Mt. Field, Mt. Dennis and Mt. Whymper. Please no access to these areas.

Weather Forecast

A similar weather pattern for the next few days - on Tuesday expect overcast skies with light snow through the day, probably not accumulating more than 3-5cm. Temperatures will remain cool from -2 to -10 and relatively light winds. Excellent weather for quality tree skiing!

Snowpack Summary

30 - 40cm of recent, dry storm snow overlies a well settled mid and lower pack. This new snow has formed slabs that overlie several suncrusts on S and W aspects and may bond poorly in some areas. No significant shears found in the mid and lower pack, however thin snowpack areas are still suspect.

Avalanche Summary

Close call today. In the Simpson area (deeper snowpack) we were on a ridge crest and triggered a large cornice. This cornice dropped onto the slope below and triggered a 400m wide size 3 avalanche that ran for approximately 900m. The slab failed on a buried suncrust, and ranged from 50-100cm deep. Watch out for buried crusts with accumulated load!

Confidence

Due to the number of field observations

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.