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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 16th, 2024–Feb 17th, 2024

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

While a thicker snowpack may generally be found west of the divide, this is still a thin year compared to most... Keep it simple.

Watch for increasing winds and rising alpine temperatures Saturday that may have the potential to to increase slab development and sensitivity.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A size 2 and 2.5 skier-triggered deep persistent slab in the Cirque Forepeak area occurred Tuesday showing that the deeper layers can still be triggered in thin snowpack areas.

Further to the west of the subregion ... skiers triggered a size 2.5 slab at 3050m on Mt Vaux Thursday while boot-packing. Luckily there were no injuries.

Snowpack Summary

20-25 cm of snow sits over the Feb 3 crust which exists in most locations (except north aspects above 2500m). At lower elevations, this crust is a sign of the stabilization that occurred during the warming event. Where it is thin: consider the snowpack to be largely as it was before the warming. While persistent weak layers remain present in the mid and bottom of the snowpack, they only remain a concern in thin areas / high elevations of this sub-region (ie with a thin Feb 3 crust).

Weather Summary

A ridge of high pressure will dominate the region through Saturday. Clear skies will bring cold nights (TL temps -20C) and a cool day. Watch for moderate south winds to bring rising temperatures likely setting up a temperature inversion.

As winds shift west, clouds will invade on Sunday bringing the potential for light snowfall into Monday. Temperatures will rise slightly with TL overnight lows near -10C.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
  • Avoid rock outcroppings, convexities, and anywhere the snowpack is thin and/or variable.

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.