Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 27th, 2015–Nov 28th, 2015

Alpine

Below Threshold.

Treeline

Below Threshold.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Below Threshold.

Treeline

Below Threshold.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Below Threshold.

Treeline

Below Threshold.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Regions

South Rockies.

Warming forecast for the next few days will increase the Avalanche Danger, especially at higher elevations. If you are out in the mountains, please post your observations to the MIN

Weather Forecast

The dry ridge of high pressure will continue to bring clear skies and valley fog to the region until at least Monday. Above 1800m, temperatures could reach 4.0' celsius while below-freezing temperatures will persist in the valleys. Ridgetop winds should remain mainly light from the northeast.

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches have been reported. With warming forecast for the next few days, I would expect loose wet avalanche activity on steep, sun-exposed slopes. If you are out in the mountains, please post your observations to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Snowpack observations have been very limited as the season commences. Initial reports suggest that there is enough snow above around 1700m for avalanches to occur. Around 10cm of settled storm snow sits on a thick rain crust which exists to at least treeline elevation. In exposed terrain at higher elevations, stubborn winds slabs are reported to exist. In places where these wind slabs interface with the underlying crust, they may still be sensitive to human triggering in steep terrain. Depending on the time of day, surfaces on steep south-facing slopes at upper elevations may be either wet or re-frozen.

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.

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.