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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 6th, 2022–Apr 7th, 2022

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

Regions

Yukon.

Wind slabs might be reactive to human triggers. If the sun comes out, the upper snowpack might weaken and the potential for wet loose avalanches will increase.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Wednesday night: Mostly cloudy, up to 3 cm snow, moderate to strong southeast wind, alpine low -4 °C, freezing level at valley bottom.

Thursday: Mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries, up to 5 cm snow, moderate to strong south wind, alpine high -2 °C, freezing level at 900 m.

Friday: Mix of sun and cloud, trace of new snow, light westerly wind, alpine high -4 °C, freezing level at valley bottom.

Saturday: Mix of sun and cloud, trace of new snow, moderate northerly wind, alpine high -4 °C, freezing level at valley bottom. 

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported on Tuesday.

Many small natural wind slabs and dry loose avalanches up to size 1.5 occurred on Monday. A couple naturally triggered size 2 wet slab avalanches were observed on steep, solar aspects. 

A small (size 1) skier triggered wind slab avalanche was also reported on a steep slope in the alpine.

Snowpack Summary

20-30 cm of recent snow sits on a hard surface of either wind-pressed old snow or sun crusts on solar aspects. The recent snow is wind affected and has a sun crust on sun-exposed slopes up into lower alpine elevations. Dry, low density snow can still be found in steep sheltered terrain features, gullies and glades. 

A strong mid-pack sits on top of weak facets near the ground.

Cornices are very large and exposure to them should be minimized, especially during warm or windy weather.

Terrain and Travel

  • Avoid freshly wind loaded terrain features.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
  • Minimize your exposure time below cornices.
  • Cornices become weak with daytime heating or solar exposure.
  • Minimize exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes, especially when the solar radiation is strong.

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.

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.