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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 13th, 2023–Jan 14th, 2023

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

Regions

Glacier.

Snowpack conditions are changing, and so should our mindset!

New snow, warm temps and moderate winds are a perfect recipe for fresh storm slab activity. The possibility of avalanches stepping down to deeper weak layers persists, and would result in large destructive avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

The terrain above the highway corridor was active early Friday morning, with several large to very large avalanches from the extreme terrain on the North side of MacDonald and the South side of Tupper. Of note, MacDonald gullies #9 and #11 produced size 3.5 slab avalanches which ran into the creek in the valley bottom. There were also several smaller (size 1.5-2.0) slab avalanches from Mt Smart, Ross Peak, Mt Abbott and the Cougar Corner paths.

On Wednesday, explosive stability tests produced six size 1-2 avalanches. They were mostly very soft slabs failing on the Jan 3rd Surface Hoar which was down about 15cm. The 7th explosive scrubbed down to ground on a shallow rocky rib, and then stepped down to the Nov 17th PWL, 1m deep, resulting in a size 3.

Snowpack Summary

Storm slabs (already up to 15cm thick by Friday afternoon) will continue to build through until early Saturday morning, as new snow buries two weak layers of Surface Hoar (January 3rd and 12th) separated by 10-25cm of previous low density snow.

The lower snowpack was facetted by the pre-Christmas cold spell. This weak base continues to be a concern, particularly in shallow snowpack areas, where the mid and lower snowpack are made up primarily of large facetted crystals.

Near the base of the snowpack, the November 17th facet/crust/surface hoar layer can still be found in snow profiles. It has become less reactive in snowpack tests, but when it does fail, there is a dramatic 'drop' of the entire snow column. Spooky!

Weather Summary

Snowfall rates will peak overnight Friday, with an additional 10-15cm forecast, along with moderate Southwest winds, an alpine low of -3*C, and a 1500m freezing level.

Ongoing flurries on Saturday will give us an additional 5cm. Winds will be light from the SW. The alpine high will be -3*C, and the freezing level will bump back up to 1600m.

On Sunday, temperatures cool and the sun should make an appearance later in the day, as the storm moves past Rogers Pass.

Monday will be mainly cloudy, with light winds and an alpine high of -5*C.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid freshly wind loaded features, especially near ridge crests, roll-overs and in steep terrain.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.