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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 26th, 2012–Feb 27th, 2012

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

Regions

South Coast.

Confidence

Good

Weather Forecast

Monday: A mostly sunny day, with moderate northerly winds and temperatures reaching -5. Tuesday & Wednesday: Expect clouds to build, with light snow developing late Tuesday and tapering into Wednesday afternoon. Winds should turn southerly but remain light with temperatures reaching -5 in the afternoons.

Avalanche Summary

We have reports of isolated explosive triggered avalanches up to size 2.5 in the Duffey area and natural releases up to size 2.0 throughout the entire region. Rider triggering to size 1.5 persists.

Snowpack Summary

Recent storm snow totals in the Duffey Lakes is 15-25cm while in the Coquihalla summit area it's 30-40cm. In both areas, this overlies a previous 40cm. This most recent interface is yielding easy results and the new storm snow is reactive to rider traffic. The southerly winds have lee loaded open treeline and alpine terrain that faces north through east. The mid February interface (down roughly 60cm) includes crusts at lower elevations, surface hoar in protected areas and hard windslabs in the alpine. Below this the lower snowpack is well bonded and strong.

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.