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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 20th, 2016–Feb 21st, 2016

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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

Little Yoho.

Below treeline elevations have gained strength due to cooler temperatures. At higher elevations, caution is still advised in bigger terrain where large avalanches are still possible to trigger.  SH

Weather Forecast

A benign weather pattern for the next few days.  Sunday will be slightly cooler with freezing levels to valley bottom and mainly light Westerly winds increasing later in the day. 

Snowpack Summary

The Jan 6 layer of surface hoar/facets is gaining strength in the region and is down 120cm at treeline , producing hard to no result in tests.  A layer down approx. 50cm (Feb 11) contains surface hoar in isolated locations at treeline producing moderate results.  Well settled snowpack overall.  Wind slabs formed in exposed alpine locations.

Avalanche Summary

2 wind slab avalanches were observed today on Mt. Field at 2300-2400m.  These were size 1.5 to 2 in un skiable terrain and occurred in the last  36 hours.  No other avalanches were observed today in this region.

Confidence

Due to the number of field observations

Problems

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.

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.