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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 6th, 2017–Apr 7th, 2017

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

Another warm day Friday before we see a cooling trend through the weekend. Travel at treeline and below will not be great over the next few days.

Weather Forecast

A series of warm low pressure systems continue to move across BC and AB. Showers and flurries forecasted for Thursday evening followed by freezing levels dipping down to 1600 m. Friday it will be cloudy and warm with more precipitation in the evening. Expect rain in the valley bottom and snow above 2000m may accumulate 10cm before it stops.

Snowpack Summary

A settled, mostly dry snowpack exists on shaded aspects above 2300m. On other aspects and below 2300m, expect morning crust and wet snow by mid-day. Concern remains about the integrity of the deeper snowpack; avoidance of large slopes is still recommended. Warmth over the next few days will release cornices and slush avalanches at lower elevations.

Avalanche Summary

Several cornice triggered deep slab avalanches have been observed on the Wapta over the past few days,

Confidence

Problems

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

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.

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.