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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 17th, 2020–Jan 18th, 2020

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, human triggered possible.

Regions

Glacier.

Watch for reactive slabs in wind-loaded areas.

Weather Forecast

Cloudy with sunny periods today and isolated flurries. Trace amounts of accumulation. The alpine high will be -15 with freezing levels staying in the valley bottom. Ridge winds SW 20-30 km/h. A small pulse of precipitation is expected on Saturday with another 5cm of new snow.

Snowpack Summary

Strong southerly winds have redistributed 15cm of new storm snow. Reactive wind slabs have formed in exposed areas above treeline. The Dec 27th surface hoar/ crust layer is buried approximately 100cm. The mid and lower snowpack are generally well settled and strong.

Avalanche Summary

Field teams on Mt Abbott and Avalanche Crest ski cut several size 1.5 avalanches in wind loaded areas, failing 15cm deep with good propagation. The "Frequent Flyer" avalanche path released naturally with a size 2.5 that overran the typical Connaught Creek uptrack. In the east end of the highway corridor, 4 size 2.5 and 2 size 3.0 Na were observed.

Confidence

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.

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.