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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 19th, 2013–Jan 20th, 2013

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

Regions

Glacier.

Weather Forecast

No new snow is expected for the forecast period. Over the weekend expect broken cloud, moderate westerly winds and temps from -3 to -6. On Monday, expect scattered cloud with more sunny periods and temps possibly reaching 0'C.

Snowpack Summary

Sustained moderate to strong southerly winds have created pockets of touchy windslab on lee slopes and widespread windeffect at treeline and above. A layer down 30-50cm has been most reactive on steep solar aspects where it is composed of facets/surface hoar on a crust. Below this the snowpack is well settled and generally strong.

Avalanche Summary

Yesterday, skiers reported triggerable hard windslabs. A size 1 triggered at the top of "Puff Daddy" on a NE aspect at treeline, fractured 5m above a skier. It was 30cm deep and ran 50m. There have been a few large (sz 2-3) natural avalanches observed daily. These have been triggered by windloading and are from paths with lee start zones.

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.