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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 27th, 2023–Feb 28th, 2023

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

Regions

Yukon, Tutshi, Wheaton, White Pass East, White Pass West.

Reactive wind slabs may be present on most aspects.

The persistent slab problem remains a concern primarily on northeasterly aspects.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche observation since last weekend. This is should not be an indication that they are not occurring.

If you head to the backcountry please help out your community by sharing your experiences and submitting a report to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Trace amounts of snow continue to rest on aging wind slabs on all aspects Approximately 30 to 50 cm down a decomposing crust, up to 5 cm thick, can be found. It appears to be bonding well to layers above and below and is widespread up to 1300 m and isolated as high as 1700 m.

A weak layer of surface hoar and facets may be buried about 90 to 140 cm deep on north-to-east aspects. This layer may rest on a harder melt-freeze crust. Where preserved, this layer, if triggered, is capable of producing very large avalanches.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Mostly cloudy, trace accumulation, winds north 25 km/h, treeline temperatures -20 ºC.

Tuesday

Sunny, no accumulation, winds north switching to southwest 15 km/h increasing to 25 late in the day, treeline temperatures hovering around -18 ºC.

Wednesday

Cloudy, 8 cm accumulation by noon and another 10 by midnight, winds southerly 35 km/h gusting to 75, treeline temperatures around -10 ºC.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy, 2 cm accumulation, winds southwest 35 km/h, treeline temperatures -8 ºC.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.
  • Avalanche hazard may have improved, but be mindful that deep instabilities are still present.
  • Avoid slopes that sound hollow or drum-like.
  • Be especially cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.

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.