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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 18th, 2024–Apr 19th, 2024

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

Regions

Yukon, Tutshi, Wheaton, White Pass East, White Pass West.

Skiers hunting dry snow on high north aspects have encountered touchy dry loose avalanche conditions in recent days. Have a plan for managing your sluff.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

We haven't received any reports of new slab avalanches, although a few riders reported sluffing in steep alpine terrain. Looking forward, daytime warming will increase the likelihood of wet loose avalanches on sun-exposed slopes.

Cornice falls are also possible.

Please consider sharing your observations to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Predominantly wind affected snow surfaces are found in the alpine. Wind-sheltered terrain may hold settled soft snow that can produce dry loose avalanches with skier traffic in steep terrain. Steep sun-exposed slopes will moisten with daytime warming and freeze into a hard melt-freeze crust overnight.

Cornices are also large and looming at this time of year.

Weather Summary

Thursday night

Clear skies with possible valley cloud below 1500 m. 15 - 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Freezing level remaining elevated, rising to 2500 m.

Friday

A mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 2 °C. A 1500 m to 2500 m above freezing layer dissipating and freezing level returning to 1700 m.

Saturday

Cloud dissipating to sunny skies in the morning. 10 - 15 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level to 1500 m.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy. 20 - 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind, increasing. Treeline temperature around 0 °C with freezing level to 1300 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be carefull with sluffing in steep terrain, especially above cliffs and terrain traps.
  • The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
  • Loose avalanches may start small but they can grow and push you into dangerous terrain.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.

Problems

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.