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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 24th, 2016–Mar 25th, 2016

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/scond/Cond_E.asp?oID=23024&oPark=100815

We have a Special Avalanche Warning in effect because we do not think the danger rating of MODERATE adequately illustrates the complexity in the snowpack right now. Low probability/high consequence. Easter weekend is here; keep it mellow out there.

Weather Forecast

After a bit more snow overnight on Thursday (< 5 cm), it looks like a nice long weekend ahead with skies clearing off on Friday afternoon and a mix of sun and clouds for Saturday. Valley bottom temperatures could reach up to +5, while freezing levels will rise to 1800 m during the mid-afternoon. Sunday looks the same, with a mix of sun and clouds.

Snowpack Summary

5 cm of new snow overlies crusts in most locations except shaded terrain above 2000m. In the top meter of the snowpack, several buried suncrusts exist and may still be a concern on west, south and east aspects but in general the snowpack is well settled. Low elevation snowpacks (Field ice climbs) are isothermal and slushy.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches reported in the Little Yoho region over the past 24-hours. Climbing in Guinness Gully today revealed a lot of old, wet debris in the gullies on Mt. Dennis and this should be expected during the afternoon periods over the next few days

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.