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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 25th, 2022–Feb 26th, 2022

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

Regions

Glacier.

Good skiing can be found in terrain that was sheltered from previous winds.

Manage terrain cautiously if the snow surface is wind stiffened, or if a crust can be found below last weeks storm snow.

Weather Forecast

High pressure remains Saturday, with an incoming storm on Sunday.

Tonight: Clear, Alpine Low -12*C, light W ridgetop winds, Alpine temperature inversion.

Saturday: Sunny periods, Alpine High -7*C, light-moderate SW wind

Sun: Snow (Up to 10cm), Low -8*C, High -7*C, Strong SW wind

Mon: Snow (Up to 15cm) Low -7*C, High -4*C, Moderate S wind

Snowpack Summary

Wind slabs from early in the week still linger in exposed terrain - these formed from West switching to strong Northerly winds. The February 15 surface hoar/solar crust is down 30-70 cm. This layer hasn't been reactive in stability tests or to skier traffic in the past couple days, but surprised several parties early in the week.

Avalanche Summary

There were a few MIN reports of several small slab avalanches on the steep NRC headwall Thursday.

No new natural avalanches were observed Thurs-Fri.

Early this week there were several reports of human triggered avalanches failing in wind slabs and on the Feb 15 layer - partial burials on Avalanche Crest, Vaux Moraine, wind slabs on Cougar Creek East.

Confidence

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.