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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 20th, 2015–Jan 21st, 2015

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

20 cm of soft surface snow made for excellent ski quality on Mt Field today. We continue to be wary of the Dec 18 surface hoar, as we dig in various locations to try and track its distribution and strength.

Weather Forecast

The westerly flow continues with no snow in the forecast until early Thursday morning. Treeline temperatures on Wednesday will range from -5 to -10 with alpine winds increasing to 50-60 km/hr by the afternoon. A total of 10 cm of snow is expected by Friday.

Snowpack Summary

The snowpack in the Emerald Lake and Mt Field area is about 130cm deep, with the main weakness being the Dec 18 surface hoar down 50 cm. This layer continues to produce moderate results, but the layer is not found in all areas.  We suspect some bonding is occurring with this layer, but remain careful. Windslabs exist in open, alpine areas.

Avalanche Summary

No natural avalanches observed, but human and explosive triggered avalanches persist. Yesterday someone in the Sunshine Village backcountry triggered a windslab that took them for a 50m ride. Avalanche control on Mt Dennis in Field today produced no slabs, but loose snow avalanches ran 1000m over Pilsner Pillar.

Confidence

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.