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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 27th, 2018–Nov 28th, 2018

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.

Ice climbs in Field are in good shape, but the valley bottoms are still a little thin for skiing: ~30 cm of snowpack at Emerald Lake and ~ 20 cm in Field.

Weather Forecast

A warm wet storm is hitting the coast, but we won't get much in the Rockies. We should see another 5-10 cm with mild temperatures by the end of day Thursday with moderate SW winds. Colder air is coming on Friday as temperatures drop to -15 to -20 and winds switch to the NW.

Snowpack Summary

Moderate SW winds and 5-10 cms of new snow has created windslabs in the alpine. These sit on sun crust on steep south and surface hoar on sheltered N aspects. The Oct 26 crust is found ~10-30 cm above the ground with large facets growing both above and below it. The snowpack averages 40-85 cm at 2200m across the region and is weakening as it facets

Avalanche Summary

Sunshine Village ski patrol was reporting thin soft windslabs in immediate lees on Tuesday. These were touchy, but small and low consequence at this time. No other avalanches observed or reported, but visibility was limited.

Confidence

Problems

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.

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.