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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 19th, 2017–Feb 20th, 2017

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/scond/Cond_E.asp?oID=26206&oPark=100092

Enjoy the great skiing but remember that the potential for large human triggered avalanches persists. Conservative route choices remain the theme of the day.

Weather Forecast

Light snow in the forecast for Sunday night and Monday morning with a few more flurries over the next few days. Winds should stay in the light range and temperatures are expected to slowly decrease over the forecast period.

Snowpack Summary

10-25cm of recent storm snow with little wind effect. Minimal surface slab formation at tree line and above, but persistent problems remain with the lower half of the snow pack being weak and faceted in thin snow pack areas. Cooler temperatures have helped to stabilize the snow pack below tree line but the snow pack is still generally weak.

Avalanche Summary

Not much new avalanche activity was observed on Sunday with the exception of the new snow sluffing out of steep cliff features, so ice climbers take note. Lots of natural and human triggered avalanche activity over the past 5 days up to size 3. While natural activity is expected to taper off, human triggering will remain likely for some time.

Confidence

Due to the number of field observations

Problems

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.

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.