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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 18th, 2016–Dec 19th, 2016

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, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Jasper.

Weather Forecast

Monday should see a continuation of the flurries we are expecting overnight. Accumulations are uncertain but could be as much as 10cm by morning with a further 6-10cm over the day on Monday. Sw winds continuing to blow, with gusts into the strong range. Warming up to -11 in the alpine which should feel downright balmy after the deep freeze.

Snowpack Summary

Wind press and scouring on the surface. Cold temps faceted the snowpack breaking down internal cohesion, especially below 2100ms. Where shallow, expect to be standing on the ground. Deeper HS areas have faceted above and below the Nov12 crust (45-90cm deep). Look for isolated buried SH layer down 10 to 15cms on E through N asp. in sheltered areas.

Avalanche Summary

1 x sz 2 Slab (-24hrs) on east aspect, 2100ms. Bottom 1/3 of feature called Snowboarder Slope on Parkers Ridge. Several size 1 to 1.5 loose snow avalanches observed at TL and above from steep rocky terrain.

Confidence

Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Monday

Problems

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.

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.