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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 29th, 2013–Mar 30th, 2013

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, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Little Yoho.

The spring cycle is in full effect right now. Danger ratings on solar aspects will increase with daytime warming to considerable/high, so start early and be back at the trail-head before the heat of the day!

Weather Forecast

Temperatures will be above normal, with freezing levels hitting 2200m tomorrow and possibly 2700m on Sunday. We may see scattered clouds later in the afternoon, but there shouldn't be any precipitation associated with them. Winds will be light from the NW.

Snowpack Summary

W of divide. S through W slopes developing variable melt freeze crusts, thickest on steep W aspects.  Powder snow on N aspects. Generally well settled snowpack.

E of divide settled wind slabs over basal facets. Supportive travel with variable sun crust up to 2700m.

Avalanche Summary

Natural cornice release off Wapta Peak near Mt Field this morning, good size 2 pulling small slab below and creating a large powder cloud. See photo here. A size 3 slab off a south aspect was noted in the drainage north of Mt Bourgeau. This likely failed on a sun crust, but scrubbed down to ground lower in the runout.

Confidence

The weather pattern is stable

Problems

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.

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.