Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Regions
Glacier.
Continued loading from snowfall and warm temp's have created a dangerous surface slab. Might be wise to visit your local ski hill today!
Weather Forecast
Another storm pulse will head through Rogers Pass today, bringing 10-20cm of snow, with freezing levels continuing to rise to 1600m. Winds are expected to be moderate from the SW, gusting strong. Friday will see a slight break in the snowfall, but more is forecasted to arrive Saturday and Sunday, with freezing levels shooting up to 2000m.
Snowpack Summary
30-50cm of heavy snow over light snow has created a touchy soft slab. This lies on top of suncrusts on solar aspects, and windslab on N and E aspects. The new slab is failing with easy to moderate results within the new snow, as well as at the old interface. The Jan 28/Feb 10 PWLis down 1.2-1.5m under a cohesive slab.
Avalanche Summary
Artillery control yesterday and this morning has produced excellent results, with avalanches to size 3.5 running fast and to the end of their run-outs. Few observations were made in the backcountry, but given the natural activity in the highway corridor, it is safe to say there is a natural avalanche cycle on-going.
Confidence
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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 Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.
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.