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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 4th, 2021–Jan 5th, 2021

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

Look for terrain that is sheltered from the wind to enjoy the recent snow, and avoid steep wind loaded areas until the newly formed winds slabs have a chance to bond with the layers below.

Weather Forecast

A few cm's of new snow are forecast for Monday night with a mix of sun and cloud on Tuesday. Alpine winds will remain in the moderate to strong range out of the W and SW, increasing to strong Tuesday night before dropping to moderate again on Wednesday. Treeline temperatures will be in the -8 to -10 range on Tuesday.

Snowpack Summary

15-30 cm of storm snow at treeline. Extensive wind effect in open areas at treeline and in the alpine with wind slabs in lee areas. The Dec 13 and Dec 7 sun crust/surface hoar/facet layers are down ~ 70 cm and ~90 cm respectively. The decomposing Nov crust/facet layer sits at the bottom of the snowpack. Height of snow at tree line is 130-200cm.

Avalanche Summary

A number of size 2 natural wind/storm slab avalanches were observed in the alpine from Sunday's storm including one larger avalanche in the Mt Stephen path that ran down to just above the railway tunnel. Explosive controlled small wind/storm slab avalanches were reported by the local ski hills Monday, mostly in the alpine.

Confidence

Due to the number and quality of field observations

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.