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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 26th, 2020–Dec 27th, 2020

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

Glacier.

Although decreasing in likelihood, triggered persistent weak layers could result in avalanches running to valley bottom.

There is a Special Avalanche Warning in effect. Click Here to access.

Weather Forecast

A pacific frontal system will cross the BC interior today, gradually dissipating Sunday morning

Today: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries (5cm). Alpine high -7 C. Wind SW 20-30 km/h

Tonight: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries (5cm). Alpine low -9 C. Wind SW 30 km/h

Tomorrow: Cloudy with sunny periods, no precip. Alpine high -8 C. Wind W 10 km/h

Snowpack Summary

The recent storm dropped 120cm snow and was accompanied by warm temps and strong S-SW winds, followed by strong N winds. Weak layers: Dec 13 surface hoar/facets are down 70-110cm, Dec 7 crust/surface hoar layer is down 110-130cm+. The Nov 5 crust lingers near the base of the snowpack.

Avalanche Summary

Thursday, a skier accidental size 2 slab avalanche occurred in a SE Couloir on Mt Afton.

Wednesday, avalanche control by MOT produced two size 4 avalanches just west of the Glacier Park boundary. Bagheera SE face went size 3.5 overnight Wednesday. The suspected failure plane for these avalanches is the December 7th crust/ facet interface.

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.