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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 21st, 2022–Jan 22nd, 2022

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

Regions

Yukon.

Strong winds, warming temperatures, and new snow are a recipe for dangerous avalanche conditions. 

Virtually all slopes are heavily wind affected, making for unwelcoming riding conditions.

Confidence

Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain. Uncertainty is due to the extreme variability of wind effect on the snowpack.

Weather Forecast

Friday Overnight: Snowing, 10-20 cm of accumulation in White Pass. Strong southwest winds. Freezing level around 600m.

Saturday: Continued snowfall, 5-10 cm of accumulation. Moderate to strong southwest winds. Freezing level 500-800m.

Sunday: Mainly cloudy, trace to 5 cm of new snow accumulation. Strong southerly winds. Freezing level 500m.

Monday: Partially cloudy, trace new snow. Moderate to strong southwest winds. Freezing level at the valley bottom.

Avalanche Summary

When the sun came out on Friday, several natural loose wet avalanches up to size 1.5 were observed in thin snowpack areas inland from White Pass. These avalanches entrained most of the snowpack, pulling pockets of slab in the track. 

Snowpack Summary

A significant storm is impacting the region and has brought 15-30 cm of new snow to the White Pass area with continued snowfall throughout today. The accompanying strong to extreme southerly winds have created extensive wind effect at all elevations, building deep deposits of wind slab in lee areas and generally making for adverse travel conditions and poor snow quality. 

Below the new snow, the snowpack is heavily wind affected. A variety of old surfaces exists including a thin rime crust at treeline and hard old wind slabs at higher elevations. The lower snowpack is facetted above the ground surface.

Terrain and Travel

  • Keep your guard up at lower elevations. Wind slab formation has been extensive.
  • Avoid all avalanche terrain during periods of strong wind.
  • Avoid slopes that sound hollow or drum-like.
  • Avoid sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if snow is moist or wet
  • If triggered loose wet avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

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.

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.