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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 25th, 2022–Jan 26th, 2022

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

Regions

Yukon.

Be careful as you transition to wind-affected terrain. Triggering wind slab avalanches remains a concern.

Confidence

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.

Weather Forecast

TUESDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with isolated flurries and a trace of snow, moderate wind from the southwest, treeline temperatures around -6 C.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy, light wind from the southwest with some gusts to 40 km/h, treeline temperatures around -6 C.

THURSDAY: Increasing cloud with isolated flurries brining up to 5 cm of new snow, strong wind from the south, treeline temperatures around -8 C.

FRIDAY: Stormy weather with 5-15 cm of snow throughout the day, strong wind from the south, treeline temperatures around -5 C.

Avalanche Summary

There are no reports from White Pass over the past few days, but we suspect the storm on Monday night resulted in some natural wind slab avalanches in alpine terrain.

Snowpack Summary

Monday night's storm delivered 5-20 cm of snow with strong southerly wind. This has further reshaped the already variable snow surface with a mix of fresh soft wind slabs, old hard wind slabs, sastrugi, and scoured surfaces. At lower elevations, there have been reports of a thin rime crust around treeline and a hard crust below 1300 m. Pockets of soft snow may be found in sheltered trees. The snowpack structure is generally strong, but some weak and facetted snow can be found just above the ground.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
  • Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind loaded snow.
  • Stay off recently wind loaded slopes until they have had a chance to stabilize.

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.