Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 20th, 2022–Feb 21st, 2022

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

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.

Regions

Glacier.

The storm snow buried a surface hoar / crust layer, which is variable in its distribution, but found to be most sensitive to triggering at and below tree line. Enter new terrain, that does not show signs of previous avalanches, cautiously.

Weather Forecast

Charge your heated sock batteries and plan to ski in the sun, it's gonna get cold!

Monday will see mainly sunny skies with periods of cloud, 15-25km/hr variable winds and an alpine high of -23, as the Arctic ridge of high pressure slides into our region bringing cold and clear conditions for the next few days. Gradually warming up by the weekend

Snowpack Summary

40-60cm of storm snow over the last few days, with the higher amount being on the West side of the Park. Wind affected snow in the alpine and down into tree line. The Feb 15 surface hoar (2-8mm) is down 40-70cm and most prevalent below tree line. The Jan 29 surface hoar is down 70-120cm and breaking down.

Avalanche Summary

Reports of skiers triggering the Storm Slab, tree line and below in steep terrain.

On Saturday, natural avalanche activity was observed up to size 3.0 and artillery controlled avalanche results up to size 3.5. The Feb 15 surface hoar layer was active during this cycle, pulling slabs at lower elevations.

Confidence

Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain on Monday

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.