Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Regions
Glacier.
Choosing conservative terrain today will bring you to good skiing in the park. Be on the lookout for any signs of a weak snowpack... recent avalanches, settlements or cracking around skis.
Weather Forecast
Light snow today with moderate/heavy snow forecast for tomorrow. Winds will be light to moderate from the west/northwest. Expect alpine temperatures around -7 today. Light snow is expected to continue on Monday with freezing levels around 800m.
Snowpack Summary
30 cm of storm snow has fallen in 2 days. Storm slabs are present on lee features at treeline and in alpine from moderate southerly winds. Below treeline the new snow is unconsolidated. A surface hoar layer, buried on Feb 12, is down 50-70cm. This layer has been most reactive between 17-1900m and where it sits on a sun crust.
Avalanche Summary
A skier triggered a size 2 avalanche yesterday, 1700m, SE aspect down 35-45cm on surface hoar sitting on a 2-3cm crust. See image here. We observed a small natural avalanche cycle mid-day yesterday. Avalanches sized 1.5-2.5 were running in the storm snow. None of these avalanche triggered deeper layers.
Confidence
Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Sunday
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.
